Sept, 25, 2013
Grandpa’s view…
Every Wednesday afternoon, 11-year-old Grace and her grandfather visit the haunts of a famous writer and/or artist. First day: Honoré de Balzac (1799-1850), father of the modern French novel, essayist, playwright and journalist. With an additional 50 manuscripts, his fiction appeared as La Comédie Humaine. France’s Charles Dickens, the wildly popular Balzac is still read in the world`s major languages. Today`s G-G tour included a visit to the author`s home in the old Passy district and a stop at Balzac`s personal print-shop on rue Visconti. Last stop: Gracie got her first Balzac novel, Le Père Goriot, in the bookstore L’Arbre à Lettres at the foot of the rue Mouffetard. Mango ice-cream fueled post-visit analysis.
Gracie’s view…
Balzac’s house was very open and I loved the room filled with his characters. His ‘bureau’ was very eccentric and looked very much like the office any author would want! The garden was beautiful, although the big green bug scared grandpa away! Back to his office: I can just imagine him dipping his pen in the ink bottle, scratching furiously a the paper, then crossing it out again… He was intelligent but drank too much caffeine!Balzac’s House in the 7th arrondissement
The writer’s desk
A wall with pictures of Balzac’s characters such le Père Goriot and la Comédie Humaine’sLucien Chardon de Rubempre
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Honor%C3%A9_de_Balzac
http://en.parisinfo.com/paris-museum-monument/71078/Maison-de-Balzac