Alexis ou le Traite du Vain Combat/ le Coup de Grace

Overview It was with Alexis that, in 1928, Marguerite Yourcenar began her career as a novelist. The book remains one of the stellar literary debuts of the century. Yourcenar has created a moving meditation on the relationship between pleasure and love. A novel in the form of a letter form the protagonist to his wife, Monique. His letter declares that he can no longer continue in the marriage, that he must obey the demands of his own sexuality.