The volume of literary prose by the greatest French writer and thinker of the 20th century, Georges Bataille (1897–1962), includes novels and stories “The History of the Eye”, “Heavenly Blue”, “Julia”, “The Impossible”, “Abbé S.” and "Divinus Deus", the first part of which is "Madame Edward". Striving for an “impossible” mystical experience, Bataille’s characters explore the dark, often repulsive depths of the human psyche; debauchery serves as a means of religious quest. The publication is equipped with a rich scientific apparatus and is intended both for specialists in modern literature and culture, and for a wider audience.