Thirty-Three Monsters
Lydia Zinovieva Annibal
33 Monsters by Lydia Zinovieva-Annibal (Petersburg, 1907) is a young woman’s
intimate diary. It is written to another woman, Vera, her lover. Vera is older than the narrator and forces her to sit for 33 male painters who will paint 33 versions of her beautiful body, the 33 monsters. Vera initiated this search for truth, the exposure of her lover’s beauty to men and to art. Art and life as an artwork will destroy each other;
Vera will not survive this offering. The short novel, 33 Monsters was one of the few works of its day to openly discuss lesbianism. It was first banned
but then judged as not obscene. Written and first published in Petersburg in 1907, it has been republished in 2022 by Eleonore de Montesquiou.
Year
2022
Length
176 pages
Cover
Hardcover
Binding
Perfect binding
Dimensions
23 x 17 cm
