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This bookis a new translation of Henry Murger’s influential Scènes de la vie de bohème, first published in French in 1851. The book recounts the lives of a bohemian group of creative young people as they fall in and out of love, endure cold and hunger, enjoy drunken parties, see their friends suffer and die of poverty, and finally emerge as mature artists. The book's publication soon inspired many (mostly young) people to seek out a bohemian life in Paris and other cities around the world. Not only did it inspire people at the time to change their lives, it also inspired Puccini’s beloved opera La Bohème(1896) and, a hundred years later, Jonathan Larson’s phenomenally successful Rent (1996). Few works of literature have had such a social impact. Bohemian cultures and subcultures have been with us ever since and Murger’s book remains an engaging and satisfying work of literature.
Robert Holton provides a modern version of Henri Murger’s Scenes of Bohemian Life that captures the spirit of nineteenth-century Parisian bohemia while remaining accessible to contemporary readers. Holton’s ability to translate double-entendre and provide well-researched sociohistorical and cultural context underscores Murger’s oeuvre as a richly intertextual work of art. —Eliza Jane Smith, University of San Diego.
INTRODUCTION; 1. How the Bohemian Society Was Established; 2. A Gift from the Gods; 3. Love at Lent; 4. Ali-Rodolphe, or A Turk by Necessity; 5. Charlemagne’s Coin; 6. Mademoiselle Musette; 7. The Sands of Pactolus; 8. What Five Francs Cost; 9. Polar Violets; 10. The Cape of Storms; 11. A Bohemian Café; 12. A Reception in Bohemia; 13. The Housewarming Party; 14. Mademoiselle Mimi; 15. Donec Gratus; 16. The Passage of the Red Sea; 17. The Graces Adorned; 18. Francine’s Muff; 19. Musette’s Whims; 20. Mimi’s Fine Feathers; 21. Romeo and Juliet; 22. Epilogue to Love; 23. Only Young Once; Appendix: Murger’s Preface; Index