Rakes of the Old Court: A Novel (Northwestern World Classics) - Softcover

Caragiale, Mateiu

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0810142252 ISBN 13: 9780810142251

Publisher: Northwestern University Press, 2021

Synopsis

Widely regarded as the greatest Romanian novel of the twentieth century, Mateiu Caragiale’s Rakes of the Old Court (Craii de Curtea-Veche) follows four characters through the bars and brothels of Bucharest. Guided by an amoral opportunist, the shadowy narrator and his two affluent friends drink and gamble their way through a city built on the ruins of crumbled castles and bygone empires. The novel’s shimmering, spectacular prose describes gripping vignettes of love, ambition, and decay.
 
Originally published in 1929, Rakes of the Old Court is considered a jewel of Romanian modernism. Devoted “Mateists” have long read, memorized, and reenacted the novel, and after the Romanian Revolution, it became part of the high school curriculum. Now canonical, Mateiu’s work has been celebrated for its opulent literary style and enigmatic tone.
 

About this title

About the Author

MATEIU CARAGIALE (1885–1936) was a Romanian writer of fiction and poetry. The illegitimate son of prominent playwright Ion Luca Caragiale, Mateiu had a contentious relationship with his family. Heavily influenced by Edgar Allan Poe, his works describe characters of uncertain ancestry, airs of fog and mystery, and plots of decadence and abasement.
 
SEAN COTTER is a professor of literature and translation studies at the University of Texas at Dallas.
 

Edition details

• Publisher: Northwestern University Press
• Publication date: 2021
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0810142252
• ISBN 13: 9780810142251
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 136