About the Book Known chiefly as the basis for Puccinis great opera La Bohme, 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. Book Synopsis 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 Murgers 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 Murgers 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 ones attempt to leave a mark on the world. About the Author 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.