Wormwood: A Drama of Paris

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Wormwood: A Drama of Paris is an 1890 novel by Marie Corelli. It tells a dramatic and sensational story about absinthe, the strong bitter drink, and how it can ruin a life. The book is set in Paris and follows a writer named Gaston Beauvais.

Plot in simple terms:
- Beauvais is engaged to Pauline de Charmilles. Before their wedding, Pauline loves another man, Silvion Guidel, who is training to become a priest.
- Beauvais turns to alcohol and then drugs after the news. He shows up drunk at the wedding, which causes a scene.
- He befriends a man named Gessonex and spirals into more debauchery. When he learns Pauline has run away, he searches the Paris slums and finds Guidel.
- Beauvais murders Guidel by choking him, then throws Guidel’s body into the Seine river. He finds Pauline and confesses the murder, which drives Pauline to throw herself from the Pont Neuf into the river as well.
- Beauvais faints, wakes to the terrifying image of a hallucinatory leopard stalking him, and the story ends in the morgue with Pauline’s dead body nearby.

Style and perspective:
- The story is told in the first person by Gaston Beauvais. Much of the narrative is in English, with occasional French words and phrases. Corelli’s use of old-fashioned language and some archaisms is a notable feature of the writing.

Themes and purpose:
- Wormwood is meant to be a moral warning about modern Paris and the vices tied to the aesthetic and decadent movements of the time. It presents the downfall of a once-promising writer as a consequence of his choices and lifestyle.
- Corelli includes an introductory note distancing herself from the villain, but the book still contains sharp judgments about France and French literature. Some critics see the novel as using decadent tropes to captivate readers.

Absinthe focus:
- The title refers to the bitter herb used to make absinthe. The book opens with a strong critique of what Corelli calls “absinthe-mania,” which she argues corrupts people across social classes.
- The work is linked to real-world debates about absinthe and helped fuel discussions about possible bans in Europe and the United States.

Publication and reception:
- Corelli sent the manuscript to her publisher George Bentley in July 1890. The work was planned as a realist novel in the spirit of Balzac.
- It appeared in three volumes in November 1890, bound in pale green with a serpentine design reminiscent of absinthe bottles.
- Wormwood was a commercial success, selling quickly, though some readers were scandalized. Middlebrow magazines praised it for entertainment and moral content, while some highbrow journals gave mixed compliments. The Times and The Standard offered harsh criticisms, and Punch satirized Corelli’s style.
- A later edition in 2004 from Broadview Press added extensive footnotes.

Legacy and adaptations:
- The book quotes a poem about absinthe by Charles Cros and includes a note praising Cros.
- The language and melodrama have been seen as both sensational and morally instructive.
- Wormwood inspired a stage adaptation in the United States around 1902–1903, with changes to the plot and a more hopeful ending.
- A silent film version was released in 1915.

In short, Wormwood is Marie Corelli’s vivid cautionary tale about absinthe and Paris, blending melodrama with a moral message about the dangers of vice and decadence.