In 1892 Jules Lermina (1839-1915) published a collection of short fiction titled La Magicienne, with the specialist occult publisher Chamuel. The current volume brings together the bulk of the material in that book, subsidized by additional items-two short occult fantasies and a humorous novelette. For most of the twentieth century Lermina's works were the almost-exclusive province of collectors of rare books, a situation which the present volume helps to remedy, including as it does a substantial serving of the cream, with such pieces as "The Magicienne" and "The Spell-Caster," which are both masterpieces of occult fiction, and the title story, "Human Life," which is a work of genius that falls outside of all genre categorization.