‘Calvary’ (‘Le Calvaire’) is a 1886 novel by the French journalist, playwright, and novelist Octave Mirbeau. Heavily drawing from his own life, Mirbeau’s ‘Calvary’ is a romanticised retelling of his fateful affair with a woman of questionable morals named Judith Vinmer – ‘Juliette Roux’ in the novel. Octave Mirbeau (1848 – 1917) was a French playwright, travel writer, journalist, pamphleteer, art critic, and novelist whose work has been translated into thirty languages. Mirbeau became famous in Europe and enjoyed immense popularity, while simultaneously remaining appealing to the literary and artistic avant-garde. Other notable works by this author include: ‘Sébastien Roch’ (1890), ‘Dans le ciel’ (1893-1989), and ‘Le Jardin des supplices’ (1899). Many vintage books such as this are becoming increasingly scarce and expensive. We are republishing this volume now in a modern, high-quality edition complete with a specially commissioned new introduction on the history of erotic literature.