De l'assassinat considéré comme un des beaux-arts

Synopsis of De l'assassinat considéré comme un des beaux-arts

«De l'assassinat considéré comme un des beaux-arts» is Thomas De Quincey's satirical essay, published by Gallimard in paperback (196 pages).

In this essay, the author examines murder as an art form from an ironic perspective. De Quincey imagines a society of enthusiasts who value the aesthetic quality of famous crimes, from Cain to Burke and Hare, and includes the case of Williams, who terrorized London.

Work originally titled «On Murder Considered as one of the Fine Arts» (1827); this French edition belongs to the L'Imaginaire collection (no. 462), with a translation by Pierre Leyris.

For those interested in philosophical essays, nineteenth-century English literature, and satirical humour applied to crime.