Joseph Kessel. First American edition, later printing. NAP. New York: St. Martin's Press, 1962. Both unclipped dust jacket and hardcover in Very Good+ condition. Jacket designed by William Metzig. No writing or markings found in the book 181 pp. Translated by Geoffrey Wagner.
Belle de Jour delves into the life of Séverine Sérizy, a beautiful and affluent Parisian housewife. Despite her deep affection for her husband, Pierre, she struggles with physical intimacy, leading her to explore her repressed desires. Under the pseudonym “Belle de Jour,” she secretly works at a brothel during the afternoons, indulging in her fantasies while maintaining the facade of a conventional marriage. As she becomes entangled with a jealous gangster client, Marcel, her dual existence spirals into a web of secrecy and danger, culminating in tragic consequences.
Originally published in French 1928 this is the first English translation it was made into a film by Luis Bunuel, starring Catherine Deneuve in 1967 and was the inspiration for Secret Diary of a Call Girl.
