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 t...

Henry Murger wrote a series of popular short stories in the late 1840s describing the poverty of the young artists of his generation in Paris, basing them on his personal experiences. These were adapted for the stage by Théodore Barrière in 1857. The play follows the fortunes of several young people, including Marcel (a painter), Musette (his promiscuous lover), Rodolphe (a writer), and Mimi (his faithful but fatally ill companion). Unable to support themselves from their art, they are doo...

ContentsA Piece of Bread By Francois CoppeeThe Elixir of Life By Honore De BalzacThe Age For Love By Paul BourgetMateo Falcone By Prosper MerimeeThe Mirror By Catulle MendesMy Nephew Joseph By Ludovic HalevyA Forest Betrothal By Erckmann-chatrianZadig the Babylonian By Francois Marie Arouet De VoltaireAbandoned By Guy De MaupassantThe Guilty Secret By Paul De KockJean Monette By Eugene Francois VidocqSolan...

"All for one, and one for all!" In The Three Musketeers, a young and ambitious d'Artagnan travels to Paris in search of glory—only to find himself swept into a world of duels, political intrigue, and daring adventure. Alongside the legendary trio—Athos, Porthos, and Aramis—he forms an unbreakable bond of friendship as they defend honor and face powerful enemies. Together, they navigate dangerous plots, royal conspiracies, and high-stakes missions that test their courage and loyalty at ever...

The world knows Madame Tussaud as a wax artist extraordinaire, but who was this woman who became one of the most famous sculptresses of all time? From the internationally bestselling author of Nefertiti and Maria comes a “rollicking drama” (Good Housekeeping) that is “intimate and entertaining” (Associated Press).“Both a gripping, fictionalized biography of an intriguing woman and a well-paced, illuminating chronicle of the French...

At the age of nineteen, Yolande of Aragon is sent away from her family, her friends, and everything she knows, to marry the young Duke of Anjou, King Charles VI's first cousin. Their marriage has been arranged to form an alliance between the previously warring kingdoms of Aragon and Anjou, and is politically fraught in a time of great danger and unrest. Yet the union between Yolande and Louis becomes not only a great love story, but also sets in motion events which will change the course o...

In 1785, a sensational trial began in Paris that would divide the country and captivate Europe. A leading Catholic cardinal and scion of one of the most distinguished families in France stood accused of forging the queen's signature to obtain the most expensive piece of jewelry in Europe: a 2,800-carat diamond necklace. Where were the diamonds? Was the cardinal innocent? Was, for that matter, the queen? The revelations from the trial would bedevil the French monarchy as the country descend...

These are difficult times for Nicolas Le Floch: Louis XV is dead and Nicolas's boss Sartine has been promoted to Minister of State for the Navy.Le Noir, Sartine's successor as Lieutenant General of Police, distrusts Le Floch. Monsieur de Saint-Florentin, the King's new minister, entrusts Commissioner Le Floch with the investigation into the murder of a chambermaid whose throat was cut in unusual circumstances at Saint-Florentin's home.His inquiry takes place both in Paris an...

January 1774Commissioner Le Floch's lover, socialite Julie de Lastérieux, is found murdered in her bed, a victim of poisoning.Nicolas retains the confidence of those closest to him, and is even sent by Louis XV to London on a secret mission. But a plot is afoot to implicate Le Floch in Julie 's death, and he faces the toughest challenge of his career as he fights to clear his name and bring the real murderer to justice.

Commissioner Nicolas Le Floch is on a diplomatic mission to Vienna, ostensibly to deliver a bust of Marie Antoinette to her mother, the Empress Maria Theresa. His real task, however, is to investigate the breakdown of French secret intelligence in Austria. The city is a hotbed of plotting - and Nicolas only just survives an attempt on his life.On his return to France, Paris is in turmoil. The soaring price of grain and bread is causing widespread social unrest, an...