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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.
Henry Murger’s tales of bohemian life – in Robert Holton’s lively new translation – continue to fascinate and to resonate. The haphazard, hand-to-mouth existence of Murger’s bohemians, their vanities, their shifts and dodges, their amours, their self-deceptions, their wiles, their wit, their ever-fluctuating fortunes make for very agreeable and entertaining reading. The thoughtful introduction and informed annotations by Holton to Murger’s text are a most welcome added benefit. Warmly to be recommended. —Dr. Gregory Stephenson Associate professor emeritus at the University of Copenhagen. Author of the book "The Daybreak Boys: Essays on the Literature of the Beat Generation".
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