- The Miracle of the Rose
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The Miracle of the Rose Author(s) Jean Genet Original title Miracle de la rose Translator Bernard Frechtman Country France Language French Genre(s) Semi-autobiographical novel Publisher Marc Barbezat - L'Arbalete (Original French), Grove Press (English Translation) Publication date 1946 Published in
English1994 Media type Print ISBN 0571250386 Preceded by Our Lady of the Flowers Followed by Funeral Rites
The Miracle of the Rose (in French: Miracle de la rose) is a 1946 book by Jean Genet about experiences as a detainee in Mettray Penal Colony and Fontevrault prison - although there is no direct evidence of Genet ever having been imprisoned in the latter establishment. This autobiographical work has a non-linear structure: stories from Genet's adolescence are mixed in with his experiences as a thirty year old man at Fontevrault prison. At Mettray, Genet describes homosexual erotic desires for his fellow adolescent detainees. There is also a fantastical dimension to the narrative, particularly in Fontevrault passages concerning a prisoner called Harcamone who is condemned to death for murder. Genet idolises Harcamone and writes poetically about the rare occasions on which he catches a glimpse of this character. Genet was detained in Mettray Penal Colony between 2 September 1926 and 1 March 1929, after which, at the age of 18, he joined the Foreign Legion.In popular culture
The Pogues have a song titled "Hell's Ditch," which contains references to the novel.
References
Luc Forlivesi, Georges-François Pottier and Sophie Chassat, Educate & Punish: the agricultural penal colony of Mettray (1839-1937) (in French), Presses universitaires de Rennes, October 2005.
Works by Jean Genet Prose Our Lady of the Flowers · The Miracle of the Rose · Funeral Rites · Querelle of Brest · The Thief's JournalDrama Film Categories:- French non-fiction literature
- 1946 books
- Works by Jean Genet
- Biography book stubs
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