The Desire and Pursuit of the Whole: A Romance of Modern Venice

The Desire and Pursuit of the Whole stands as a uniquely scurrilous sensual testament to Frederick Rolfe's fervent affection for the physical beauty of the city of Venice and its inhabitants. This is the Death in Venice, Thomas Mann would not have dared to write and is one of the classic books on Venice at a time when it served as an home for undesirables from all over Europe as well as erotic vacation destinations for some in the way Asia is today. Published posthumously in 1934, the original edition was heavily edited version and only first published in its entirety in 1993. Since new photographs of Rolfe and his world have come to light and this is the first annotated edition which clearly identifies who is who in the book.This edition includes a foreword by W.H. Auden and an Introduction by Corvo biographer A.J.A. Symons.