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Cover of Cocaine by Pitigrilli

Cocaine

by Pitigrilli

A cynical journalist moves through sex, scandal, cocaine, and decadent Paris at the beginning of the 1920s.

Published
1921
Setting
Paris, Italy
Shelf rating
4.2

The story, briefly

Spoiler-free

Pitigrilli’s fast, satirical novel follows a young Italian journalist through Parisian nightlife, cocaine, erotic freedom, scandal, and moral disintegration.

What's inside

A young journalist enters a sophisticated Paris world in which cocaine, sex, ambition, and self-destruction are never far apart.

Why we recommend it

  1. Decadent Paris with cocaine at the center

    The novel makes sophistication, nightlife, drugs, and self-destruction part of the same fast-moving social world.

What this book explores

Book editions

Paperback edition cover
Paperback
New Vessel Press
2013
ISBN-13
9781939931092

Reader reviews

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Cover of Dope by Sax Rohmer

Dope

Sax Rohmer

Another period novel fascinated by cocaine, nightlife, glamour, and danger.

Read our take

Also recommended in books like The Diary of a Drug Fiend.

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References

References

The sources below include the primary text, editions, scholarship, archival materials, and other records that informed this page. They document Cocaine, its publication, and its place in literary history.

  1. 1Cocaine

    Novel
    Pitigrilli, 1921
    Used for

    The primary text represented by this page, used for descriptions of the work’s contents and for any quoted passages shown here.

  2. 2Cocaine

    Official record
    New Vessel Press
    Used for

    Official record used to verify names, dates, institutional details, or other factual information on this page.

    View source
  3. 3Dino Segre (Pitigrilli)

    Biography
    Dizionario Biografico degli Italiani, Treccani
    Used for

    Biographical evidence used to verify chronology, relationships, and historical context connected to Cocaine.

    View source
  1. 4Cocaine by Pitigrilli — library catalogue record

    Official record
    WorldCat, OCLC
    Used for

    Official record used to verify names, dates, institutional details, or other factual information on this page.

    View source
  2. 5From Cocaine to Fascism

    Periodical
    The New York Review of Books
    Used for

    Contemporary reporting or criticism used to document the historical reception and context of Cocaine.

    View source
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Why these sources are here

The primary text is the baseline reference for every book page. Additional references document publication history, interpretation, and historical context where that evidence is available.

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