Moulin Rouge
by . Random House, $3.50.
This novel based on the life of Count Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec is a classic example of the liabilities of biographical fiction. Lautrec — with his dwarf-like legs, his genius, his passion for Montmartre and status of lion in the most brilliant Parisian society, his alcoholism and his madness — is a fascinating subject. M. La Mure’s invention of a problem (that no woman could love Lautrec) contradicted by established facts, and his tampering with Lautrec’s love life, are a falsification which simply makes the fiction less arresting than the truth. Unfortunately too, the author has told his story in what might be termed the oh, la-la! school of prose.