The Cathedral

by J.-K. (Joris-Karl) Huysmans

"The Cathedral" by J.-K. Huysmans is a novel published in 1898. The third book featuring the character Durtal, a thinly disguised portrait of Huysmans himself, it follows the protagonist after his retreat at a Trappist monastery as he moves to Chartres. There, Durtal immerses himself in the renowned Chartres Cathedral, which Huysmans describes in extraordinary detail. The novel became Huysmans' most commercially successful work during his lifetime, and tourists still use it as a guidebook to the cathedral today.