Not so much a chronicle of love as a reverie on eros throughout history and literature and mythology, this extraordinary 1906 volume is an all but lost work of Edgar Saltus, an unheralded innovator of creative nonfiction and one of the most astonishingly stylish writers of the early 20th century. With the wit of Wilde, the gloominess of Poe, and a decadence uniquely his own, Saltus delves into humanity's relationship with itself, from the barbarism of sex in prehistory to the sundering of modesty from romance in 18th-century Europe. Redolent of dark poetry, Saltus's prose is riveting and seductive-this is a masterpiece awaiting rediscovery by adventurous 21st- century readers. American writer EDGAR EVERTSON SALTUS (1855-1921) is also the author of The Pomps of Satan, Imperial Purple, and The Perfume of Eros.