A Season in Hell is the English version of Rimbaud's prose poem in nine parts. A speaker describes a harrowing period of spiritual and emotional crisis, recalling a troubled childhood, a rejection of religion and a bold attempt to change life through poetry and vision. Other voices enter, including a companion who is tormented by him, and the tone swings between rage, irony and longing. Short, intense and unlike anything written before it, the book is a landmark of modern literature and a striking confession by a very young writer.