Mademoiselle De Maupin

Published in 1835, this novel opens with a preface arguing that art need not serve moral instruction, then follows the Chevalier d'Albert, who is bored with his mistress Rosette and writes of his search for an ideal beauty. A young cavalier named Theodore arrives and attracts both d'Albert and Rosette. Theodore is in fact Madeleine de Maupin, who has put on men's clothes to move freely and to test men. The three are drawn into a country-house stay and a performance of As You Like It in which disguises multiply. The narrative proceeds by letters and confession. It is an erotic novel about looking and role-playing, not a court memoir.

Bound in cream cloth blocked with a blue and gold pattern. Cream dust-jacket printed in red and black.