Mathilde-Marie-Georgina-Élisabeth de Peyrebrune (1841-1917), who wrote under the pseudonym of “Georges de Peyrebrune,” originally published “A Decadent Woman” in 1886, in two parts in the Revue Bleue. The novella, appearing here for the first time in English, in a translation by Brian Stableford, along with three supplementary tales, is one of Peyrebrune’s most flamboyant works, presenting a caricature of a high-profile variety of radical feminism, which is demolished by the narrative in such an excessive fashion that it was evidently written tongue-in-cheek, although it is probable that some readers were oblivious to its sarcastic humor.
The three addition tales, “The Fays,” a perverse parody of a fairy tale, “The Red Bird,” a symbolist account of exotic madness, and “Salome” a spectacular landmark of decadent fantasy, are wonderful examples of Peyrebrune’s work when she chose to venture into the avant garde herself.