{"product_id":"lysistrata-illustrated-by-aubrey-beardsley-9781941667040","title":"Lysistrata: Illustrated by Aubrey Beardsley","description":"A Classic Available Again \u003cp\u003eAristophanes was the greatest writer of ancient Athenian \"old comedy,\" known for its satires of contemporary life and for its broad, often obscene humor. \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003ci\u003eLysistrata\u003c\/i\u003e was first produced in 411 BC, when the Peloponnesian War had been devastating Greece for 20 years. Most people know the plot: Lysistrata assembles women from all of Greece, and they agree that they will not have sex until the men make peace. \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eAubrey Beardsley was the greatest and the most controversial Art Nouveau illustrator in England, famous for his illustrations of Mallory's \u003ci\u003eMorte d'Arthur\u003c\/i\u003e, Oscar Wilde's \u003ci\u003eSalome\u003c\/i\u003e, Pope's \u003ci\u003eThe Rape of the Lock\u003c\/i\u003e, and for several magazines. \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eBecause he was associated with Oscar Wilde, Beardsley lost his job as art editor of a magazine named \u003ci\u003eThe Yellow Book\u003c\/i\u003e in 1895, soon after Wilde was arrested for homosexuality. \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eHe was approached by Leonard Smithers, a publisher of erotic books, who asked him to illustrate \u003ci\u003eLysistrata\u003c\/i\u003e. His illustrations are very much in the spirit of Aristophanes, as funny as they are obscene. \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eBeardsley converted to Catholicism in 1897, and soon after, he asked Smithers to \"destroy all copies of \u003ci\u003eLysistrata\u003c\/i\u003e\" with its \"obscene drawings,\" but Smithers refused. \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eBeardsley died of tuberculosis in 1898, at the age of 26. \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eSmithers initially published \u003ci\u003eLysistrata\u003c\/i\u003e in a limited edition of one hundred copies. It was reprinted in the 1960s and 1970s, but copies have long been scarce and expensive. \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThough some may find it offensive, we believe it is valuable to reprint this book, so all the books illustrated by this great artist are readily available.\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Omo Press","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":50516780450066,"sku":"9781941667040","price":11.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0831\/4771\/8930\/files\/img_930c63ef-03ea-46e2-9359-c1fb0b566488.jpg?v=1731028844","url":"https:\/\/surprise-castle.myshopify.com\/products\/lysistrata-illustrated-by-aubrey-beardsley-9781941667040","provider":"Surprise Castle","version":"1.0","type":"link"}