Les Fleurs Du Mal

The bilingual, illustrated, and National Book Award-winning edition of Charles Baudelaire’s masterpiece. The complete French text is accompanied with an English translation by Richard Howard.

Charles Baudelaire’s 1857 masterwork was scandalous in its day for its portrayals of sex, same-sex love, death, the corrupting and oppressive power of the modern city and lost innocence, Les Fleurs Du Mal (The Flowers of Evil) remains powerful and relevant for our time.

In “Spleen et idéal,” Baudelaire dramatizes the erotic cycle of ecstacy and anguish—of sexual and romantic love. “Tableaux Parisiens” condemns the crushing effects of urban planning on a city’s soul and praises the city’s anti-heroes including the deranged and derelict. “Le Vin” centers on the search for oblivion in drink and drugs. The many kinds of love that lie outside traditional morality is the focus of “Fleurs du Mal” while rebellion is at the heart of “Révolte.”

The voice of Baudelaire lives in this award-winning edition that includes monotypes by artist, Michael Mazur. “Howard’s achievement is such that we can be confident that this Fleurs du Mal will long stand as definitive, a superb guide to France’s greatest poet.”—The Nation