Honore de Balzac
« Je tiens à une maison calme, entre cour et jardin, car c’est le nid, la coque, l’enveloppe de ma vie. » (“I need a house to be peaceful, between a courtyard and a garden, for it is the nest, the shell, the sheath of my life.”)
If you are inspired by French literary figures and wish to escape for a moment the bustling activity on your next tour of Paris, don’t miss a visit to La Maison de Balzac, 47 rue Raynouard, Métro Passy.
Located in the 6tharrondissement near the Eiffel Tower (on the other side of the Seine between the Palais deChaillot and the Maison de Radio France), this was where Balzac hid from his creditors between 1840 and 1847.
This house, now a literary museum and prominent research center, was also where this extremely prolific author worked non-stop: “To work means to wake up each evening at midnight, to write until eight o’clock, take a quarter of an hour for breakfast, work until five o’clock, have dinner, go to sleep and start again the next day.” In the well-preserved study you’ll see the small table on which Balzac wrote much of the Comédie Humaine. You’ll also find various personal objects belonging to the author such as his famous turquoise-encrusted walking cane and the ornamented coffee pot from which he served himself copious amounts of strong black coffee to keep him going through the night. Come and be inspired by one of the greatest literary giants the world has ever known. The tranquil, wooded garden will provide a welcomed rest as well.
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