A seminal work of great force, Count d"Orgel is a study of a three-sided relationship set in Paris after the First World War. John Bayley wrote that Radiguet is wholly in debt to the great French masters of economy and polished observation. His avowed intention was to create a picture of the beau monde as comprehensive as Proust"s but far more taut and lapidary. In great measure he succeeded. The tale is certainly a masterpiece, one attempted and achieved by a young man of nineteen who was on his deathbed before it was published. Notes written by Jean Cocteau, Radiguet"s mentor, are reprinted in this edition.