The City of Writers

Before heading to Europe a month ago I read, extensively, about French writers and writers from other countries living in France, particularly in Paris. I had mapped out a walk for us to follow around the 5e arrondissement, or The Latin Quarter, which included Shakespeare and Company, a bookshop I have written about previously. (To read click here). It also took in Ernest Hemingway’s apartment, Gertrude Stein’s apartment, and several cafés and restaurants frequented by literary people.

I didn’t realise the whole city is an enormous tribute to writers. In fact, the whole country pays homage to writers, artists, and other creative people. Nearly every town we visited has a Rue Victor Hugo. Most also have a Rue Émile Zola. There are Metro stations named for many of the great writers. They are revered and respected. I loved being in the city and being surrounded by the history and the memorialisation.

Our visit to Shakespeare and Company unexpectedly happened on our first day in Paris. The bookshop is very popular and you have to queue to enter. It is a wonderful resource for history and guide books about Paris and France, translated French authors, and most popular and classic books available in English. I decided to buy a hardcover copy of Madame Bovary by Gustave Flaubert. Shakespeare and Co stamp the title page, and this is a book I have been looking forward to reading. It also seemed an appropriate choice given Sylvia Beach, the original owner of the shop, was instrumental in encouraging English translations of French works. (Sylvia’s shop was a different shop, but this shop is named for hers in homage).

Within the week we returned to Shakespeare and Co, as we enjoyed it so much. This time I had to buy a copy of A Moveable Feast by Ernest Hemingway. The first book setting my heart alight for Paris, and Hemingway being such a great friend of Sylvia Beach, it was the perfect choice. Unfortunately photos are not allowed within the store. There were many photos of the 1920s and the writers of the années folles, the crazy years in Paris. Collectively these writers were known as The Lost Generation.

Our second literary destination was found completely by accident. We took the Metro to Montparnasse to meet our friend Josh. While waiting at the agreed meeting place, I looked across the street and saw Le Dôme. Le Dôme is a fabulous Art Nouveau cafe which was popular with the writers of the 20s. Particularly Hemingway. When Josh arrived we agreed to have breakfast at Le Dôme. Our waiter was so Parisian, and so lovely, he encouraged me to take photos and walk around the restaurant, taking in all the history and the magnificent windows. It was brilliant.

We also visited Les Deus Magots, another Hemingway favourite, which is almost next door to Cafe de Flore. All of the things I had read about writers in Paris, F. Scott Fitzgerald, Ezra Pound, James Joyce, Djuna Barnes, Gertrude Stein, and French writers such as Jean-Paul Satre and Simone de Beauvoir, took place in these very places. They are revered on menus and in drink names. Le Dôme had an Ernest Hemingway set menu.

We visited Père Lechaise Cemetery and saw the tombs of Molière (, the great French playwright patronised by Louis XIV, Honorè de Balzac (1799-1850), French playwright and novelist, and Oscar Wilde (1854-1900), Irish playwright and novelist. We walked the Jardin du Luxembourg and saw statues of Baudelaire (1821-1867), French poet, and George Sand (1804-1876), real name Amandine Lucile Aurore Dupin de Francueil, female French novelist, memoirist, and journalist.

Finally, and with some embarrassment I admit to having read The Da Vinci Code by Dan Brown some twenty years ago. I became so interested in the premiss I followed The Da Vinci Code with Holy Blood, Holy Grail by Michael Baigent. While in Paris I couldn’t resist seeing the Rose Line that runs through Saint Sulpice, and was the setting of one of the dramatic scenes in the book, and movie.

If you love books and are visiting Paris, I highly recommend doing some research before you go. There are many opportunities to visit sites and show respect for the writers you love. I also recommend Emily Cope’s The Booklover’s Guide to Paris. I found it when I came home, but am enjoying it immensely. Here is a Goodreads link to the book.