In 1907 Guillaume Apollinaire, one of the most original and influential poets of the twentieth century, turned his hand to the novel. He produced two books for the clandestine market. The finer of these was Le Onze Mille Verges. One of the most masterful and hilarious erotic novels of all time, it was once owlishly pronounced by Picasso to be Apollinaire's masterpiece. For nearly seventy years this novel remained a legend. In 1973 the definitive version was published in France, on which edition The Times Literary Supplement commented: 'The rutting is non-stop. Who else would have turned a twosome into a foursome by the arrival of two randy burglars? Even when turning his hand to a dirty novel, Apollinaire was very much Apollinaire.'