Claude, son of the owner of the small provincial hotel Le Cheval Blanc, is just fifteen years old. In the arms of Mariette, a servant in his mother’s service, he discovers the pleasure of the senses. His passion becomes devouring as he understands how much his desire is linked to the charms that the young woman sells to other men.

Claude is not a little proud to know the pleasures of the senses with Mariette. His passion is enhanced by the way other men look at her, especially M. Fernand, the clerk. A three-way adventure, somewhat troubled, stokes the embers of desires. But attractive, elusive and endearing though Mariette may be, she is only a woman, and entirely human. Those who have the honour of knowing her, even though they might be thrown into the abyss, nevertheless find their own sort of happiness.

Rien qu’une femme (Nothing but a Woman) is a novel by the prolific author Francis Carco (1886–1958), first published in 1921, and subsequently in this beautifully-illustrated edition with plates by Laborde.

The Laborde-illustrated Rien qu’une femme was published in Paris by Éditions de la Roseraie, in a limited numbered edition of 200 copies.

We are grateful to Steve Mullins of the Olympia Press website (www.parisolympiapress.com) for these illustrations.