Rachilde (1860-1953), born Marguerite Eymery, was the author of the novels Monsieur Vénus (1884) and La Marquise de Sade (1887), as well as many other works, including plays, short stories, and essays. She was bisexual and in her youth, she preferred to dress as a man. With her husband Alfred Vallette and several other writers, she founded the Mercure de France literary magazine and publishing house. Identified with both the Decadent and Symbolist movements, Rachilde’s work—often the object of scandal—examines the world in lush prose that veers between the comic and the macabre.