Louÿs, Pierre
(1870–1925)
Louÿs, PierreLouÿs, PierrePierre Louÿs (B * GHENT, 1870 – D † PARIS, 1925) Altered spelling of Pierre Félix Louis, Belgian-born (because of the Prussian invasion of 1870) French poet and novelist, known for his extremely erotic novels and prose-poems, some of which he legitimized by saying that he had merely translated ancient Greek texts, as in the Chansons de Bilitis (1895). The hoax successfully deceived many scholars for years. At age 18 he said that he had only three vices: »the blank…