Scenes of Bohemian Life

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 bohème (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. This edition of Henri Burger’s Scenes of Bohemian Life is a classic of French literature reimagined for modern readers. Since our inception in 2020, Mint Editions has kept sustainability and innovation at the forefront of our mission. Each and every Mint Edition title gets a fresh, professionally typeset manuscript and a dazzling new cover, all while maintaining the integrity of the original book. With thousands of titles in our collection, we aim to spotlight diverse public domain works to help them find modern audiences. Mint Editions celebrates a breadth of literary works, curated from both canonical and overlooked classics from writers around the globe.