Jean Genet, French 1910-1986
Querelle of Brest, 1947

POA

First edition, author’s presentation copy, inscribed by the author and dedicated to brothers Hervé and Gérard Mille.
One of 40 copies reserved for the "les amis de Querelle", signed and numbered by the author, from an overall edition of 525
29 erotic illustrations by Jean Cocteau
Presented in a leather bound slipcase, and published in Paris by Paul Morihien, 1947

Jean Genet was a French novelist, playwright, poet, essayist, and political activist. In his early life he was a vagabond and petty criminal, but he later became a writer and playwright. His work, much of it considered scandalous when it first appeared, is now placed among the classics of modern literature and has been translated and performed throughout the world. The book is set in the midst of the port town of Brest, where sailors and the sea are associated with murder. Georges Querelle, its protagonist and antihero, is a bisexual thief, prostitute and serial killer who manipulates and kills his lovers for thrills and profit. The novel formed the basis for Querelle (1982), Rainer Werner Fassbinder's last film. The explicit illustrations by Jean Cocteau, may have been the reason why Genet was prosecuted for indecency in 1954, although the charges were dismissed.

The book is dedicated to Hervé and Gérard Mille. Hervé was a co-founder of Paris Match and his brother Gérard, a decorator. The couple were at the centre of Paris society, who would entertain luminaries such as Coco Chanel, Colette, Serge Lifar, Edith Piaf, Charles Aznavour, and Jean Cocteau.