After the Satanic debaucheries of L…-bas (1891) and the sensual battles of En Ro
ute (1895), comes the cloistered calm of The Cathedral (1898). In this long, ref
lective novel, Huysmans' alter-ego, Durtal, sets out to explore the mystic symbo
lism embodied in one of the greatest gothic edifices in France, Chartres cathedr
al. Written at the time of the Dreyfus Affair, a political scandal that threaten
ed to tear France apart, Chartres cathedral became for Huysmans a potent symbol
of the harmonious diversity of the Middle Ages, one that had the potential to un
ify the divisions in contemporary French society. This complex, multi-layered vi
sion of Chartres cathedral as a structure in which art, science and religion cou
ld exist in harmony rather than discord, captured the public imagination on its
first publication, and The Cathedral became a runaway bestseller.
The Cathedr
al will appeal to readers interested in architecture, religious art, Chartres an
d other cathedrals, and the Durtal quartet of novels by J-K.Huysmans.