The Gate of Ivory

First published in 1898, and here made available for the first time in English in a translation by Brian Stableford, The Gate of Ivory was the last of Symbolist Bernard Lazare’s volumes of fiction to be released before his time was wholly taken up with the Dreyfus Affair.

Embedding tales within tales, this literary portmanteaux moves into the foreground of the reading experience the question of the functions of storytelling, developing a subversive skepticism and challenging orthodox thought. The Gate of Ivory was the most elaborate fruit of Lazare’s rare analytical fervor and intellectual commitment to Anarchist philosophy, and with its sophisticated polish it is surely one of the most unique feats of Symbolist fiction.