This book of linked essays contains the first critical study of Baudelaire's development as a poet, from his youth onwards.This book of linked essays contains the first critical study of Baudelaire's development as a poet, from his youth onwards. It also includes studies of the development of Baudelaire's aesthetic, detailed commentaries on a number of his finest poems, and accounts of three intriguing and crucial 'encounters' with notable contemporaries.This book of linked essays contains the first critical study of Baudelaire's development as a poet, from his youth onwards. It also includes studies of the development of Baudelaire's aesthetic, detailed commentaries on a number of his finest poems, and accounts of three intriguing and crucial 'encounters' with notable contemporaries.This book of linked essays contains the first critical study of Baudelaire's development as a poet, from his youth onward. It also includes studies of the development of Baudelaire's aesthetic, detailed commentaries on a number of his finest poems, and accounts of three intriguing and crucial encounters with notable contemporaries. Three of the essays are previously unpublished and four very recent; the other eleven have been thoroughly updated, revised, and, in some cases, substantially expanded. Together, they constitute a new and important contribution to the understanding and appreciation of Baudelaire's work.Forewords Eva Jacobs, Claude Pichois; Author's preface and acknowledgments; Part I. The Composition of Les Fleurs du Mal: 1. Pour une chronologie des Fleurs du Mal (1967; 1988); 2. Baudelaire-Cramer: les sens de Orfraies (1985); 3. Les Lesbiennes: A verse novel? (1988); 4. Les Limbes: 'The Agitations and Melancholies of Modern Youth' (1988); 5. Les Fleurs du Mal (18571865): The resuscitation of the 'pi?ces sacrifi?es' (1988); 6. Poet - or 'architect'? (1966; 1988); Part II. Les Fleurs de Mal: Themes and Interpretations; 7. The amorous tribute (1968); 8. The originality of l-