From The Library Of Jean Kronski

In Nexus, page 8, Henry Miller lists several books, against which the puppet Count Bruga rests. This long list is meant to detail the book collection of Jean Kronski, who had moved into his apartment on June's invitation. The titles reveal an interest in the intellectual and the subversive. Many of these works are now available for free on the internet.

The Imperial Orgy (1920) by Edgar Saltus.
Chronicles the cruel despots of Imperial Russia (some quotes).

The Vatican Swindle (Les Caves du Vatican 1914/ Eng 1925) by Andre Gide.
Mystery tale of corruption in the Vatican (text in French).

A Season In Hell (1873) by Rimbaud.
Early drug poetry (text in French).

Death In Venice (1912) by Thomas Mann.
Homoerotic obessesion, old age and lost youth (text in German).

Anathema (Russian 1909; Eng 1923 - play) by Leonid Andreyev.
Allegorical play about misery and the quest for reason.

A Hero For Our Time (1841) by Mikhail Lermontov.
Inside the complex mind of a 19th-century Russian adventurer (full text).

The Tragic Sense of Life (1921) by Miguel de Unamuno.
Philosophical essay exploring faith in god versus faith in self (full text).

The Devil’s Dictionary (1887) by Ambrose Bierce.
Clever, critical observations of everyday life in the form of a dictionary (full text).

November Boughs (1888) by Walt Whitman.
Collection of Whitman essays on his literary theories and other observations (full text).

Beyond The Pleasure Principle (1920) by Sigmund Freud.
Freud goes beyond his usual sexual motivations to explain the death instinct (excerpts).

Lysistrata (410 BC) by Aristophanes.
Ancient play explores the quest for peace in time of war (full text).

Marius the Epicurean (1885 ) by Walter Pater.
Manifesto of sorts for the aesthetic life and pursuit of beauty (full text).

The Golden Ass (c AD 100) by Apuleius.
Ancient tale of magic-obsessed young aristocrat who turns himself into an ass and, as such, becomes witness to the misery of the wretched of Rome (full text).

Jude The Obscure (1895) by Thomas Hardy.
Conflicts of class and desire topple a promising young man (full text).

The Mysterious Stranger (1916) by Mark Twain.
Satan comes to town (full text).

Peter Whiffle (1922) by Peter van Vechten.
Biography of a writer who never got around to writing a book.

The Little Flower - Not sure which exact book is being referred to here. St. Theresa is often known as "The Little Flower."

Virginibus Puerisque (1881) by Robert Louis Stevenson.
Essay on love and marriage (full text).

Queen Mab (1813) by Percy Bysshe Shelley.
Essay on revoltion and human virtue. In the form of a poem (full text).

The Great God Pan (1894) by Arthur Machen.
Supernatural fable of Pan's offspring luring men to suicide (full text).

The Travels of Marco Polo (13th c.) by Marco Polo.
Marco Polo's travel journal (Vol. 1 full text/ Vol. 2 full text).

Songs of Bilitis (1894) by Pierre Louÿs.
Erotic stories of lesbian love (full text).

The Unknown Life Of Jesus (1887/90) by Nikolia Notovich ???

Tristram Shandy (1759-67) by Laurence Sterne.
Satirical novel taking a knock at intellectuals (full text).

The Crock of Gold (1912) by James Stephens.

Irish folklore used as backdrop for philosophical novel (full text).

Black Bryony (1923) by T.F. Powys.

Collection of stories by John Cowper's brother.

The Root And the Flower ( ) by ???

Metaphysics of Sex (by Rosanov). I was not able to find this book on the internet. Jean did not own this title: Miller ends the list with this, noting it as the only "lacuna," or, the only thing missing from her collection; a commentary of some kind. Maybe mocking the titles that seem to be sexual edification under the guise of intellectual exercise.