The Victoria System is Eric Reinhardt's novel of sex, power, capitalism and deception.

LONGLISTED FOR THE IMPAC DUBLIN LITERARY AWARD.

SHORTLISTED FOR THE PRIX RENAUDOT, THE PRIX GONCOURT AND THE GRAND PRIX DU ROMAN DE L'ACADEMIE FRANCAISE


David Kolski is overseeing the construction of the largest tower in Paris. A highly stressful job with numerous complications, it keeps him from his wife and children. Then, by chance, he encounters Victoria de Winter.

Victoria is a ruthless high-flyer who knows what she wants and always gets it. She shows David a luxurious life of decadence and desire, and together they explore the limits of who they are and what they want.

At the same time, David finds he is more driven at work. He seems to be a better, more complete man. Yet he has doubts. What kind of dark, a-moral world is Victoria leading him into? Can he really trust her? Can he even trust his own perceptions any more - or is the intense pressure turning him paranoid?

And should you, the reader, trust his account?


'Erotic, raw, violent and vertiginous . . . We often accuse French writers of navel-gazing and ignoring the world around them, but Eric Reinhardt is one of those who gives the lie to this cliché' Emmanuel Carrère, author of Limonov

'Bold, arresting, accomplished, complex, sensual, sexual, intriguing, heady' Le Monde

'An ambitious and tragic novel which weaves together sex, power games and imagination. An ultracontemporary anti-fairy tale' Les Inrocktibles

'Finally, a sexy book by someone who appears to have had sex' Dazed and Confused

Born in 1965, Eric Reinhardt is the is the author of four previous novels and a freelance publisher of art books. He lives and works in Paris. The Victoria System is his first novel to be translated into English.

Sam Taylor is the English-language translator of HHhH, by Laurent Binet. He lives in France and the United States.