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Many of Honoré de Balzac's works have since been made into films
and he is now regarded as one of the founders of realism within literature, which has
continued to inspire writers even to this day.
There is only the one house still standing in Paris
where Balzac lived and nestled on the hillside of the ancient village of Passy near to the
Bois de Boulogne, he occupied this house from 1840 to 1847.
Honoré de Balzac fled to this house after his possessions were seized through his debts
and he rented it in his housekeeper's name to avoid his creditors. In fact, just to
get to see him you would have to provide a password and if a creditor came to the door he
would go out though a different exit to escape them.
It was in this particular house in his office that he wrote some of his last works and
masterpieces like La Cousine Bette and completely corrected the whole works of Comedie
Humaine, which is a collection of stories, many of which were set in Paris.
Honoré de Balzac married very late in life and it was only five months after his wedding
that he died. He had become a friend with Victor Hugo and Victor had visited him
that day on 18th August when he died, and he also served as a pallbearer.
Many people including virtually all writers in Paris attended Honoré de Balzac's funeral
and he was laid to rest at the Cimetiere du Pere Lachaise in Paris.
Auguste Rodin, the French sculptor featured Honoré de Balzac in some of his small
sculptures and Auguste also produced a statue of Honoré, which stands near the
intersection of Boulevard Raspail and Boulevard Montparnasse.
The Maison de Balzac museum is like taking a step back in time with displays of personal
souvenirs, paintings, etchings and other objects that were from his contemporaries and
those close to him.
Plus you can get to view a large number of original manuscripts and illustrations.
Probably one of the most notable memento's is Honoré de Balzac's kettle, which he named
the screeching owl and kept hot throughout the nights whilst working on La Comédie
Humaine.
Also within this museum, you will be able to see lots of characatures of Honoré de Balzac
along with his original writing desk, chair and his reference library, which holds some of
his original works.
Even if you had not ever heard of this writer, it is an interesting quaint museum of
memorabilia from this prolific writer in a residence that is so very rare to exist these
days and you can even see the Eiffel Tower from the
tranquil garden.
Maison de Balzac is one of three main literary museums in
Paris, the other two are the Maison de Victor Hugo and the Musee de la Vie Romantique.
The Maison de Balzac Museum is open every day except on a Monday and on holidays from 10am
through to 5pm.
Address & Contact Details:
Maison de Balzac
47 Rue Raynouard
Passy
75016
Paris
Telephone: 1 55 74 41 80
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