<DIV><P>Set against the backdrop of Europe&rsquo;s slide into Fascism, this twentieth-century erotic classic takes the reader on a dark journey through the psyche of the pre-war French intelligentsia, torn between identification with the victims of history and the glamour of its victors. One of Bataille&rsquo;s overtly political works, it explores the ambiguity of sex as a subversive force, bringing violence, power and death together in a terrifying unity.</P> <P>"Georges Bataille is one of the most important writers of the century"&mdash;Michel Foucault</P> <P> [box]</P> <P>Also available: </P> <P><I>My Mother Madame Edwarda and the Dead Man,</I></P> <P>TP $14.95, 0-7145-3004-2 &bull; CUSA</P> <P><I>Literature and Evil </I></P> <P>TP $14.95, 0-7145-0346-0 &bull; CUSA</P> <P><I>L&rsquo;Abb&#233; C</I></P> <P>TP $14.95, 0-7145-2448-X &bull; CUSA</P></DIV>