In June 2008 the selected book was NANA by Emile Zola. It contains so many references to still existing places in Paris, this cried literally for a discovery walk. So we gave appointment for a Sunday afternoon to discover Nana's life in the different right bank neighborhoods.
Here some impressions of our walk:
(in the order of appearance in the book, not during the walk)
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| Where it all started for Nana: Théâtre de Variété |
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| The artist entry in the Passage de Variété |
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| The neighborhood of Nana's time with Fontan, rue Véron. |
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| The place where girls like Nana looked out for clients: Les Grands Boulevards. Here a look at one of the many cafés. |
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| The (more or less) exact place where 'Le Chat Noir' was situated, rue Victor Masse. When Nana used to run this neighborhood this café did not yet exist. Also in this street: The hôtel where Nana and Satin get almost arrested. |
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| Not Nana's "Hôtel particulier", but a representation of her luxury home, the home of 'La Païva', or 'La Paie y va' as the saying went in her days. As courtisan La Païva brought it to much social recognition... and money... |
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| Muffat's misery: At the time where the story is set the Opéra Garnier is just being built. During his night of agony Muffat passes along the ongoing constructions. The opéra has long been finished since then. |
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| The place where Muffat finds his wife: In the arms of her lover, rue Taitbout, corner rue de Provence. The description in the book is exactly as we see today. So we can assume, that Emile Zola in his days could already have a look at this building (but probably not stop for a quick refresh of his tan... ;-) |
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| The place where Nana dies in 1870: The Grand Hôtel, rue Scribe. |
If you want to have the walk yourself, here the link to our document:
Maren
