Rachilde wrote this novella when only 20. First published in 1884, it naturally caused an outrage at the time and even read in the 21st Century it is easy to see why. Raoule de Venerande is a wealthy aristocratic Parisian, both a cross dresser and domineering woman, who falls for Jacques Silvert, an androgynously beautiful young impoverished artist. The swapped gender roles of Rauole and Jacques forms the focus of the narrative. Baron Raitolbe, whose unrequited love for Raoule, is also under her bewitching powers. With the homo-erotic ending and the necrophyllic imagery, it is easy to understand this book's classification as Decadent.