Teleny or the Reverse of the Medal (Illustrated gay erotic classic)

Not being familiar with any Oscar Wilde writing until recently, even though a question mark hangs over whether he did write all or any of this book, I felt I had to read Teleny as it is constantly referred to by scholars of the author. Whilst I can appreciate OW's place in the literary fermament, I am not convinced that Teleny is the masterpiece that some think it to be. Certainly I can see that there are events that connect it to OW and there are places where there is a whiff of his pen but it gets pretty close to being nothing more than a piece of dated, late Victorian, gay porn. One can read between the lines and I did but didn't find anything to redeem it.

Truly a classic of homosexual literature. I first read the Teleny almost 50 years ago when I was in my 20's. Now, after a life-time of experiences, spanning from the 1950's up to today (2013), I am flabbergasted at how accurately and completely the text, which was written over 100 years ago, describes male homosexual love: emotions and sex acts. Although the story's setting is apparently France at the end of the nineteenth century, the feelings and actions of the characters are as up-to-date as if they were taking place today. I recommend this book to anyone interested in male homosexuality.

Obsessive love, bizarre and disturbing sexual anecdotes, some genuinely sex bits, and loads of heartache and angst. It took me forever to get through 'cos I kept having to put it down and shake off the disgusting parts, but I'm very glad I kept at it. (And you do get some mostly nice sex near the end...) It's really a fascinating read, particularly because it offers insight into fringe Victorian attitudes.Btw, my understanding is that Oscar Wilde didn't actually write this; it was a joint effort between some of his students.

Just refreshing my memory of something I thought I cherished. It's sloppily written, obviously not by Oscar Wilde, and is sophomoric at best. Just like high school. But it did bring back some fond memories.

A book about gay love with erotic scenes written in the penmanship of a writer from some time ago - to be sure. But, I found the prose to be enticing and even thought-provoking if not fantastical. Highly recommended.

I don't think Oscar really wrote all of this.

Excellent writing. Very sexual. If Oscar truely wrote it he had alot of passion. I guess that goes without question.

Teleny is a homoerotic novel and important antithesis to the prudish idealism of the neo-classic and neo-romantic lyric love poetry of the "fin de siècle". The book about the gay love between the rich Camille and the struggling, but sexy pianist Teleny was published in 1893 in 200 copies. The partially very graphic text is accompanied by tasteful erotic linocuts by Uday K. Dhar (New York).

Teleny is a historical curiosity, which will interest those wishing to explore the life of Oscar Wilde. His alleged contribution to this story is highly improbable. It has little literary merit.

Published in 1893, TELENY is a mysterious and fascinating work. Its origin is extremely uncertain, but the attribution to Oscar Wilde, among others, is totally pertinent. Much of the style and the magical undercurrent of the story can be easily connected to the author of THE PICTURE OF DORIAN GRAY, and if DORIAN was the first - albeit coded - homosexual novel of the modern age, TELENY is its explicit counterpart.It is also a rich, multi-layered opus: a love story, an erotic novel and a social commentary. What connects all these aspects is its precious language, soaked in aestheticism and in a wide range of artistic/literary quotations, from The Bible to Sterne via Shakespeare and Titian, to name but a few. This artistic approach works well when Teleny and De Grieux's love is described, but it reaches thrillingly lacquered results when dealing with sex. Of course it is all very graphic, this being an erotic work, yet because of its peculiar vision there are no four-letter words; they are deftly replaced by a blend of scientific terms and aesthetic images, taken from art and nature, that in any case do not detract from the intoxicating sensuality of what is being described.The novel is set in France, yet its social critique is also aimed at Victorian society and its hypocrisy, just the one that would destroy Wilde's life and that here, in its French version, precipitates Teleny's tragic fate. Although ultimately sad (watch out for that final coup de théâtre), this book is never maudlin; some parts are humorous, others sharply ironic or beautifully descriptive (Teleny's "ice" room, Briancourt's house), thus creating a well balanced whole that makes it a very interesting discovery. This edition is embellished by eight linocuts by Uday K. Dhar, that effectively interpret the darkest, magnetic core of this passionate love story.

This book I never heard of. It is qbscene, but in spite of all interesting to read. I would just recommend it to those with nerves of steel.

There are a lot of formatting errors and typos. I’m glad I didn’t pay full price. Waste of money if you want a copy for an English class - you can’t analyse an incomplete and poor quality text!

WONDROUS !!!