Against the Grain

"The Floressas Des Esseintes, to judge by the various portraits preserved in the Château de Lourps, had originally been a family of stalwart troopers and stern cavalry men. Closely arrayed, side by side, in the old frames which their broad shoulders filled, they startled one with the fixed gaze of their eyes, their fierce moustaches and the chests whose deep curves filled the enormous shells of their cuirasses."   This 1884 French novel exemplifies the Decadence literary movement and influenced Oscar Wilde. Join us to explore a style of writing from a time and place so unlike our own.