Carmen and the Venus of Ille

"When Don José meets a gypsy woman down by the river, he is intrigued by her exoticism, but he has no idea that his chance encounter with 'the pretty witch' will have disastrous consequences. With her magic and her malevolent spirit, Carmen exerts a powerful charm on the submissive and unsuspecting José, who is drawn into a seedy underworld of bandits and smugglers, exploited and humiliated, until he is driven to the ultimate revenge. In 'Carmen', [the author] introduced the figure of the femme fatale, a woman who uses her sexuality skilfully to her advantage, and to the detriment of the weak and unsuspecting man who is unfortunate enough to cross her path. A passionate and seductive story about the ominous undertones that lurk beneath the facade of civilisation, 'Carmen' appears here with 'The Venus of Ille', an accomplished tale of the supernatural"--Front cover flap.