Clarimonde
by Théophile Gautier 1811–1872
The book, and the century it came out of.
Translated by Lafcadio Hearn
A young priest sees a woman at the moment of his ordination and spends the rest of his life living two: a village curate by day, and by night a Venetian nobleman’s companion in the palaces, with Clarimonde, who is dead. Gautier trained as a painter and led the Romantics at the riotous premiere of Hernani in 1830; this 1836 story is the most seductive vampire in French, and the seduction is the argument. Illustrated with 60 full-page plates — paintings by Friedrich, Granet and Goya among them.
The stories composing this volume have been selected for translation from the two volumes of romances and tales by Théophile Gautier respectively entitled Nouvelles[1] and Romans et Contes[2].
Clarimonde, by Théophile Gautier, complete and unabridged. Spelling and punctuation follow present-day American usage; the sentences, the paragraphs and the voice are the author’s, word for word.
It was written in another era and may carry attitudes a reader today will find dated. They are kept for the sake of the work and do not reflect the views of this house.
- Series
- Gothic & Horror
- Format
- Ebook
- Extent
- about 216 pages
- Reading time
- about 4 hours
- Illustrations
- Full-page plates, credited
- Text
- Complete, unabridged
- Translation
- Lafcadio Hearn
- Language
- en
- This edition
- 2026
- ISBN
- 9785501003347
60 paintings are bound into this edition
Six of them are shown here, taken from the volume itself. Each is reproduced full page and named with its painter and year.
A page from this edition
Not a mock-up: this page is taken from the finished volume. The ornament above the chapter belongs to its shelf and to no other, the opening letter is set as a drop capital, and the plate below carries the name of the painter and the year.
Both photographed from the finished volume.
Clarimonde, issued in this edition by Aeneas Press in 2026 on the Gothic & Horror shelf. Newly set, with the ornament of its series above each chapter and a drop capital on the opening page. Illustrated with full-page plates, each named with its painter.
Published as an ebook and not issued in print by this house; it carries one ISBN, 9785501003347, and is supplied worldwide. This edition — its setting, its ornament, its cover art, and the selection and attribution of its plates — © 2026 Aeneas Press.
Questions readers ask
- Is this the whole of Clarimonde?
- Yes — complete and unabridged. Nothing is cut, condensed or paraphrased. This is the book, not a summary of it.
- What exactly did you change?
- The spelling and the punctuation follow present-day American usage. Théophile Gautier's sentences are untouched — same words, same order, same rhythm.
- Are the pictures really in the book?
- Yes. The edition carries full-page plates bound into the text, each one named with its painter and the year it was made. Six of them are shown on this page.
- How long is it?
- About 216 pages, which is roughly about 4 hours of reading.
- What do I actually get?
- An illustrated ebook with its own ISBN, sold worldwide. One file, yours to keep, readable on any device.
