Dedalus Books; An Appreciation

The home of decadent, debauched and disturbing story-telling, Dedalus manages to present a recognisable and consistent identity despite a catalogue which crosses decades and continents. I first came into contact with Dedalus as a teenaged Manics fan searching out Octave Mirbeau, the source of many an album-cover quote. Later, as a young fop, their Decadent Handbook was a source of inspiration. Now, their range of republished forgotten classics and new literature in translation occupies a substantial amount of shelf-space at Workshy Fop HQ.

Their catalogue is notable for its breadth, and focuses on three main strands: classics of decadent fiction, modern European fiction in translation, and anthologies, from the Book of Absinthe to the Book of Modern Finnish Fantasy. The impression is of a body of editors and translators with a stunning depth of knowledge and dedication to finding work of the highest quality, despite an apparent lack of marketability. Their books are as well-presented as you would expect, and have attracted a cult following. They seem to appeal to a certain type of creative individual; their anthologies feature contributions from members of Blondie and Placebo, among others, with the likes of Sebastian Horsley representing the arts.

My own collection of Dedalus books mainly consists of nineteenth century writers. Starting with the bewildering, beautiful rage of The Torture Garden (described in their own catalogue as being, at times, ‘probably meaningful only to scholars of French political history’, a wonderful piece of anti-marketing), I was able to move on to Huysmans (especially La Bas and Marthe) and from there to less well known Eastern European writers such as Gustave Meyrink (The Golem, an astoundingly atmospheric piece of fin de siècle mysticism). These books share a spellbinding, ethereal quality, and prompt further investigation. Fortunately, the list allows you to delve beyond the obvious to discover the authors' less-celebrated but equally intriguing works.

In modern literature, the ‘Dedalus’ name on the spine guarantees that the book will deliver something beyond the ordinary, and you can be confident that whichever authors you choose will have something to drag you in. A recent lucky find for me was Sylvie Germain’s ‘Days of Anger’ (1993), a dark and absorbing allegorical fairytale, and one of the most unusual novels I’ve read in years. Dedalus also publishes ‘Euro Shorts’, a line of modern European fiction which must be short enough to be read on the Eurostar from London to Paris. Sophie Jabes’s ‘Alice the Sausage’ is a standout from this list, a surreal piece of erotica about a young woman who turns to prostitution to support her eating habit, until she grows too large to move.

Dedalus anthologies are a great starting place for new readers. The Decadent Handbook is one of their more high-profile publications. Edited by the Erotic Review’s Rowan Pelling, it acts as a lifestyle guide for the modern dandy, as well as an introduction to some of the best writers published by Dedalus. Other standouts include Dead Letters, the book of literary suicides, a fascinating mixture of literary anecdotes and textual criticism put together by Gary Lachman. Other titles inspire a double-take from casual browsers – ‘The Dedalus Book of Estonian Literature’ anyone?

The existence of Dedalus came under severe threat due to Arts Council cuts, and was reprieved after a vociferous campaign of support. It would have been a tragedy to see the company go to the wall, as it acts as an outlet for works of genuine quality which would otherwise risk being forgotten outside of academia, or unavailable to English-speakers. As it is, they are still publishing innovative and unusual work, most recently New Finish Grammar, a tale of memory-loss and identity which won several prizes in Italy on its publication in 2001. The books I have mentioned all come highly recommended; but I would encourage you to dip into the catalogue almost at random, and surprise yourself. Likewise, if you ever see the name ‘Dedalus’ on a charity shop shelf, pick it up straight away.

Dedalus’s mission is: ‘to be unique: an exciting, innovative and distinctive alternative to commercial publishing; to find new talent and put British publishing at the heart of Europe.” It is succeeding.