"From the haunting beauty of his Beauty and the Beast to the unforgettable images of the Orpheus trilogy, Jean Cocteau is renowned as a leading figure in European cinema as well as a unique creative force. His prodigious output in virtually every artistic field, including poetry, fiction, theatre, dance, painting, sculpture and fashion, made him a vital presence in French cultural life for much of the twentieth century. He collaborated with artists as diverse as Diaghilev, Picasso, Edith Piaf and Man Ray." "Yet Cocteau's complex body of work has rarely been examined on equal terms with his remarkable life, which was marked by public scandal, hard drugs and continual self-transformation, including even religious reconversion. In Jean Cocteau James S. Williams offers a groundbreaking analysis that sets both the life and work within highly revealing historical and artistic contexts. It centres around Cocteau's relentless self-questioning and how this propelled a dynamic process of formal experimentation, in particular through extensive collaboration with his male companions and lovers, such as Raymond Radiguet, Jean Marais and Edouard Dermit. Williams argues that Cocteau's 'multi-work' is best viewed as a radical project in gay modernism that carries important ramifications for our contemporary understanding of being and subjectivity.

" "An engaging and wholly accessible account, Jean Cocteau is essential reading for all those fascinated by the man and his extraordinary work."--BOOK JACKET.