From the bookshelves 8

I'm not sure when I was first aware of Guillaume Apollinaire. Most probably in an anthology of poetry. These are quirky stories the most memorable for me being the tale of a rogue (or overly pius?) priest who consecrates all the bread in a bakery early in the morning and then thinks of the consequences for un-shriven souls. That's how I remember it after nearly forty years anyway. The Sacrilege. This book I took with me to read on breaks at the brick-works; there are still smudges of clay on the cover and the spine is cocked. The frontispiece illustrates a retelling of the story of Salomé. First published in 1910 L'Hérésiarque et Cie was a runner-up to Colette's La Vagabonde for the Prix Goncourt.