<p>Here, presented in English in a long-belated translation by Brian Stableford, is <em>Isis</em>, the first novel of the acclaimed author of <em>Contes cruels</em>, Villiers de l&rsquo;Isle-Adam. Deserving to be reckoned as one of the foundation-stones of Decadent prose fiction, redolent with echoes of Byron and Poe, reconfigured in the Baudelairean manner, and flamboyant with Gautieresque elements, this book is a <em>tour de force</em> of extravagant implication and esthetic dexterity: a work of peculiar genius.</p><p>In its vaulting ambitions, its quirky mannerisms, its philosophical posturing and its lush descriptions, <em>Isis</em> is certainly a tale given to excess, but that excess is the essence of the endeavor, the wand of its enchantment.</p>