Idols of Perversity

Fantasies of Feminine Evil in Fin-de-Siecle Culture

Oxford University Press, 1986.
Paperback, 453 pages, illustrated

This book is dedicated to the many brilliant women who have taught me most of what I know about the world.

A work that opens with such a sentence deserves our special attention - and a sentence like that opening a book promises content that is different from most books written by men about women.

That the author has succeeded in creating a book of unique insights into the patriarchal and misogynist mind of the time that has largely shaped ours, can be seen from this collection of statements that have been made by various reviewers and readers: "witty and rewarding", "ground-breaking, important", "provocative and absorbing", "deeply serious, wildly delightful", "original and lucid", "exhaustively documented"

To these I can only add that this richly illustrated book will set its readers, both female or male, thinking over and over; and it almost forces her/him to compare his/her own images of femininity, womanhood and femaleness with those presented by the author and the artists and writers he discusses.

Even if you're not someone who is normally given to read books on 19th century art, thinking or culture, this is one to make an exception for.

Review: RCC
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