L'Ersatz d'amour
1923
Ménalkas
Amiens: Edgar Malfère
French
Novel
206pp
Gay Men, Bisexual, WWI, Military
Open Access
I am in Germany, and Chance, that sneaky god, throws me into the arms of one of those followers of the Price von Eulenburg and Kuno von Moltke, whose neo-Greek exploits delighted all the satiric newspapers five or six years ago. (Tr. Lawrence R. Schehr)
Summary
After being dumped by his girlfriend, an expressedly heterosexual Parisian musician travels to Germany to find love. Failing to attract a woman, he falls in love with a male German officer over a Wagner concert. When later introduced, he falls in love with the officer's sister as well. World War I begins and the painter enlists while the officer deserts, stressing their relationship further.
More Info
Written by Suzanne de Callias as Ménalkas.
The novel is discussed at length with short translations in Lawrence R. Schehr's French Gay Modernism (2004).
The book begins in the summer of 1913 and ends at Christmas 1919. Its sequel is Le Naufrage (1924).
Content & Trigger Warnings
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Editions
Amiens: Edgar Malfère (1923) by Le-Livre on Abebooks.
Amiens: Edgar Malfère (1923) by Books and Books Denus Marc on Abebooks.
Amiens: Edgar Malfère (1935) by Le-Livre on Abebooks.
Amiens: Edgar Malfère (1935) by pages volantes on Abebooks.