Enfants Terribles, Les

Description: "Terrors they are, these lads of the Lyc-e Condorcet, and no mistake - the terrors of the Fifth-where the tenebrous instincts of childhood still predominate-" At home, Paul shares a private world with his sister Elisabeth, a world from which parents are tacitly excluded. Their room is where the Game is played, the Game being their own bizarre version of life. All that they do outside is effectively controlled by the rules of the Game. Elisabeth might be the dutiful daughter tending their sick, prematurely aged mother; Paul might be under the spell of his fellow student Dargelos, and then of a hapless friend of his sister's - but unfortunately what the rules of the Game prescribe is that two children must die- (20021018) --This text refers to the Paperback edition. From the Back Cover At home, Paul shares a private world with his sister Elisabeth, a world from which parents are tacitly excluded. Their enchanted room is where the Game is played, the Game being their own bizarre version of life. All that they do outside is effectively controlled by the rules of the Game: unfortunately, what the rules of the Game prescribe is that the two children must die... 'The lasting feeling that his work leaves is one of happiness; not of course in the sense that it excludes suffering, but because, in it, nothing is rejected, resented or regretted' W.H. Auden --This text refers to the Paperback edition. Author Biography Jean Cocteau (1889-1963) - poet, novelist, dramatist, artist, musician, choreographer, film-maker, and actor - was one of the most talented Frenchmen of the twentieth century and a leading figure in the Surrealist movement. In addition to his popular novel Les Enfants terribles (1929), he is best remembered in the English-speaking world for the film of Orph-e (1950) and perhaps his play La Machine infernale (1934). (20021018) --This text refers to the Paperback edition.