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Georges-Carl Huismans was a French writer and literary critic, author of L'Art Moderne (1883), the first president of the Académie de Goncourt, and a recipient of the Legion of Honour. Huismans's work is distinguished by the originality of his language, the variety of vocabulary, the detail of descriptions, and the sensuality of his narrative style. His rejection of modern life and deep pessimism contributed to his interest in Schopenhauer's philosophy and Catholicism. The novel Against Nature (À Rebours, 1884) is a vivid example and manifesto of European decadence, in which Huismans finally moved away from naturalism. The protagonist, Jean des Essants, who lives alone in a country house, indulges in sophisticated entertainment, creating his own world where everything is the other way round. The rich linguistic style of Huismans's prose is marked by deep associations, neologisms, archaisms, grotesqueness and multifaceted metaphors.