Imaginary Lives

Twenty-two stories in the collection «Imaginary Lives» by the French writer and poet of the 19th century, Marcel Schwob, became some of the first works in the world in the genre of biographical fantasy. In them, Schwob, using known facts, presents a free interpretation of the motives that drive his characters. The text is provided in a translation by L. D. Ryndina. The biographies are preceded by an essay by writer and art critic Remy de Gourmont. The publication is adorned with colored illustrations and initials by the French artist Georges Barbier.
«Imaginary Lives» is the most famous work of the French writer and poet Marcel Schwob, in which he was one of the first to begin developing the genre of biographical fantasy. His unusual prose influenced symbolist writers, including Borges, who subsequently published his first collection «A General History of Infamy». Oscar Wilde dedicated the poem «The Sphinx» to Schwob. The future writer was born in 1867 into an educated Jewish family. Marcel's father headed the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Egypt for ten years and was friends with Théophile Gautier. The prose of Edgar Allan Poe and Stevenson had a strong influence on Schwob's early literary experiments. Marcel was friends with Anatole France, Maurice Maeterlinck, Henri Barbusse, and other French writers. He became a journalist, translated Defoe and Shakespeare into French, wrote plays, essays, biographies, and literary reviews. Several hundred of his stories were collected and published during the writer's lifetime in the collections «The Gates of Dream» and «The Lamp of Psyche». In Russia, the collected works of Marcel Schwob were published in 1910. The illustrations for «Imaginary Lives» were created in 1929 by the remarkable French artist Georges Barbier. He was born in Nantes. At the Paris National School of Fine Arts, his mentor was Jean-Paul Laurent. From him, Barbier inherited the virtuosic precision of drawing and an exquisite restraint of color. The filigree of lines and refinement of compositions connect Barbier with Aubrey Beardsley and Léon Bakst. Barbier was a passionate admirer of the Art Deco style. Like many adepts of this movement in art, Barbier painted theatrical sets and wallpaper patterns, he engaged in the design of jewelry and costumes. It is no coincidence that it was Barbier who was attracted to collaborate by Diaghilev, who came to Paris, resulting in the artist drawing sketches for his renowned ballets. A peculiar peak of Barbier's creativity were his drawings for the famous French fashion almanac Falbalas et fanfreluches, which was published from 1922 to 1925 in Paris. Barbier illustrated Baudelaire, Théophile Gautier, Alfred de Musset, Verlaine, and many other authors. For about 20 years, he was the leader of the artists of the Paris School of Fine Arts; in the magazine «Vogue», this group of aesthetes was called «The Knights of the Bracelets». Barbier died in 1932 at the peak of his fame at the age of fifty and was buried in his hometown of Nantes.