Soliticing Readers for Jean Lorrain's La Maison Philibert

While prostitution is not an uncommon motif in the fiction of the late nineteenth century, Jean Lorrain may be the most well-informed annalist of "(l)a Belle époque . . . irriguée par des bidets" (Jullian). Because he was knowledgeable about "son Paris galant, comme une vieille marchande à la toilette" (Jullian), Lorrain could draw on his specialized background in writing La Maison Philibert (1904). Furthermore, as he titillates his audience with the self-advertising that is meant to incite and arouse, he derives from the women described in the book a strategy for marketing texts. (REZ)