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Scenes of Bohemian Life (1851) is a novel by Henri Murger. Written
at the beginning of his career as a popular French poet and
novelist, Scenes of Bohemian Life is composed of vignettes inspired
by the author's experience as a starving artist in Paris' Latin
Quarter. Adapted countless times for theater and film, Murger's
novel served as inspiration for Puccini's opera La boheme (1896)
and for the hit musical Rent (1996). "The Bohemians know everything
and go everywhere, according as they have patent leather pumps or
burst boots. They are to be met one day leaning against the
mantel-shelf in a fashionable drawing room, and the next seated in
the arbor of some suburban dancing place. They cannot take ten
steps on the Boulevard without meeting a friend, and thirty, no
matter where, without encountering a creditor." Distinguished by
their sense of fashion and impoverished lifestyle, Paris' Bohemians
are part of a historical avant-garde, a cultural phenomenon found
in any artistic society. Living day to day, these artists and
radicals commune with the world as it is, taking nothing and no one
for granted. In Scenes of Bohemian Life, four friends-Rodolphe,
Marcel, Colline, and Schaunard-avoid landlords and old lovers on
the streets of the Latin Quarter, a district known for its
countercultural figures. Hilarious and preeminently human, Scenes
of Bohemian Life is a masterpiece of nineteenth century fiction
from a writer whose lifestyle informed much of his work. With a
beautifully designed cover and professionally typeset manuscript,
this edition of Henri Burger's Scenes of Bohemian Life is a classic
of French literature reimagined for modern readers.
Scenes of Bohemian Life (1851) is a novel by Henri Murger. Written
at the beginning of his career as a popular French poet and
novelist, Scenes of Bohemian Life is composed of vignettes inspired
by the author's experience as a starving artist in Paris' Latin
Quarter. Adapted countless times for theater and film, Murger's
novel served as inspiration for Puccini's opera La boheme (1896)
and for the hit musical Rent (1996). "The Bohemians know everything
and go everywhere, according as they have patent leather pumps or
burst boots. They are to be met one day leaning against the
mantel-shelf in a fashionable drawing room, and the next seated in
the arbor of some suburban dancing place. They cannot take ten
steps on the Boulevard without meeting a friend, and thirty, no
matter where, without encountering a creditor." Distinguished by
their sense of fashion and impoverished lifestyle, Paris' Bohemians
are part of a historical avant-garde, a cultural phenomenon found
in any artistic society. Living day to day, these artists and
radicals commune with the world as it is, taking nothing and no one
for granted. In Scenes of Bohemian Life, four friends-Rodolphe,
Marcel, Colline, and Schaunard-avoid landlords and old lovers on
the streets of the Latin Quarter, a district known for its
countercultural figures. Hilarious and preeminently human, Scenes
of Bohemian Life is a masterpiece of nineteenth century fiction
from a writer whose lifestyle informed much of his work. With a
beautifully designed cover and professionally typeset manuscript,
this edition of Henri Burger's Scenes of Bohemian Life is a classic
of French literature reimagined for modern readers.
The Bohemians of the Latin Quarter Henri Murger. Translated by
Ellen Marriage and John Selwyn. Introduction by Maurice Samuels
"Today, as of old, every man who enters on an artistic career,
without any other means of livelihood than his art itself, will be
forced to walk in the paths of Bohemia."--from the Preface Based
largely upon Henri Murger's own experiences and those of his fellow
artists, "The Bohemians of the Latin Quarter" was originally
produced as a play in 1849 and first appeared in book form in 1851.
It was an immediate sensation. The novel consists of a series of
interrelated episodes in the lives of a group of poor friends--a
musician, a poet, a philosopher, a sculptor, and a painter--who
attempt to maintain their artistic ideals while struggling for
food, shelter, and sex. Set in the ancient Latin Quarter, a vibrant
and cosmopolitan area near the University of Paris, the novel is a
masterful portrait of nineteenth-century Parisian artistic life.
"Bohemian" soon became synonymous with "artist," and it is from
Murger's novel that the word and concept entered the English
language. Drawn from real-life characters and events, the themes of
love, sacrifice, and "selling out" are immediately recognizable to
the modern reader. Capturing the heart, spirit, and bittersweet
humor of the world of struggling artists, "The Bohemians of the
Latin Quarter" is the universal story of one's attempt to leave a
mark on the world. Henri Murger (1822-1861) wrote for magazines and
newspapers and authored several books of fiction but is remembered
today only for this novel of artistic life in nineteenth-century
Paris. 2004 432 pages 4 1/4 x 6 3/4 ISBN 978-0-8122-1884-8 Paper
$29.95s 19.50 ISBN 978-0-8122-0095-9 Ebook $29.95s 19.50 World
Rights Fiction, Literature, Cultural Studies Short copy: Known
chiefly as the basis for Puccini's great opera "La Boheme," and
resurrected more recently as the musical "Rent," "The Bohemians of
the Latin Quarter" is one of the most culturally influential French
novels of the nineteenth century.
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