Troubles fêtes (also published in English under the title Deviant Virtues) is Régis Loisel’s only truly erotic title, though he has also produced a number of drawings and postcards with more of a fantasy pin-up theme. It is maybe a coincidence, maybe not, that Troubles fêtes was also a co-production with his wife Marie-Hélène, writing under the pseudonym Rose Le Guirec.

Troubles fêtes consists of three narratives, the first two – L’offrande (The Offering) and Les feux de la Saint-Jean (The Bonfires of St John’s Eve) – being textless apart from a few adjacent quotations. Neither requires text to understand, and to a large extent neither does the third, Cérémonie (Ceremony), though Rose/Marie-Hélène has written an entertaining story with clear Sadeian and Casanova references, set in a Venetian demi-monde of orgies and sexual transgression.

Troubles fêtes/Deviant Virtues leaves us wishing that Loisel had explored the rich vein of erotic story-telling further, as it clearly suits his skilled fantastic style.

Troubles fêtes and Deviant Virtues are published by Humanoïdes Associés.