The feeling was surreal when I got hold of books inspired by Paris and I was in the very same city that motivated the authors to write them. On February 2014, in the dead of winter, I entered Shakespeare and Company (named such to honor a woman named Sylvia Beach who had operated a bookshop of the same name which closed in late 1941 because of the German occupation of France) and I just felt happy to be in a city that inspired the writing of great literary pieces. Here are writers who wrote books inspired by Paris - its people, its cafes, its elegance:
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1. Ernest Hemingway
In the 1920s, American journalist Ernest Hemingway moved to Paris to work as a foreign correspondent for Toronto Star Weekly. In the City of Light, he wrote several books inspired by Paris including "A Moveable Feast", which was published posthumously. Being in Paris allowed him to travel and do research in other cities which are also found in his other works such as The Sun Also Rises, The Old Man and the Sea, and A Farewell to Arms.
Ernest Hemingway was a Nobel Prize-winning American author, best known for his novels The Sun Also Rises, The Old Man and the Sea, and A Farewell to Arms. He was born in 1899 in Oak Park, Illinois and attended high school in the same area. After graduating from high school, Hemingway went to Italy to volunteer as an ambulance driver in World War I.
In the 1920s, Hemingway moved to Paris to work as a foreign correspondent for Toronto Star Weekly. During his time in Paris, he wrote several books inspired by the city, including A Moveable Feast, which was published posthumously. Being in Paris allowed him to travel and do research in other cities, which are also found in his other works.
Hemingway is considered one of the most influential authors of the 20th century. His style of writing, with its sparse language and use of dialogue, has greatly influenced many writers since. He was also known for his adventurous lifestyle, often participating in activities such as bullfighting, big game hunting, and deep-sea fishing.
Hemingway passed away in 1961 in Ketchum, Idaho, and was posthumously awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1954.
2. Gertrude Stein
Here is another American writer who left the United States and made Paris her home. The reason for leaving was not actually for writing but Gertrude Stein's move later proved to be a blessing to many literary expatriates in Paris. Stein held regular gatherings in her home, making her abode a refuge of writers and artists such as Ernest Hemingway and Pablo Picasso. "The Autobiography of Alice B. Toklas" was a book she wrote using the voice of her eponymous lover.
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3. F. Scott Fitzgerald
This is the author of numerous works including two (a novel and a short story) that were adapted into movies: The Great Gatsby (starring Leonardo DiCaprio as millionaire Jay Gatsby) and The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (with Brad Pitt as Benjamin Button). Fitzgerald and wife, Zelda, traveled back and forth between USA and Europe between 1920 and 1930. The couple were young socialites, criticized by Hemingway for their extravagant lifestyle. Read more about him and you'll understand why The Great Gatsby has turned out into a masterpiece.
4. James Joyce
An Irish poet and novelist, James Joyce spent 20 years in Paris, where his novel "Ulysses" was published under the imprint of Shakespeare and Company. That was in 1922. Joyce had already been writing for years prior to Ulysses, but I believe he came to Paris to give himself and his writing the privacy that it need to further develop and later, complete itself.
James Joyce is a renowned Irish poet and novelist who spent 20 years of his life in Paris. His most famous novel, Ulysses, was published by the imprint of Shakespeare and Company in 1922. Joyce had already been writing for years before coming to Paris, but it was in Paris that he was able to find the privacy he needed to further develop and complete his work.
Joyce is best known for his modernist style of writing and his use of stream-of-consciousness technique. He was also a pioneer in the use of interior monologue in his writing, which allowed him to explore the inner thoughts and feelings of his characters. His work has had a huge influence on the development of literature, and he is widely considered to be one of the most influential writers of the 20th century.
Joyce's work has been adapted for stage and screen numerous times, and his novel Ulysses has been translated into more than 40 languages. He has won numerous awards and accolades, including the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1924. He is also the namesake of the prestigious James Joyce Award, which is presented annually to a writer who has made a significant contribution to Irish literature.
5. Samuel Beckett
This Irish writer wrote in both English and French and worked with fellow Irishman James Joyce, when the latter was working on "Finnegan's Wake". He made Paris his permanent home from 1937 and even joined an underground movement to resist the Germans during World War II. From this experience, a whole lot of traveling and encounters with different people, he wrote novels, short stories, plays, and even broadcasted on television and radio. No wonder this man was awarded the 1969 Nobel Prize in Literature!
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6. Henry Miller
Meet an American writer whose works were banned in his very own country because they were considered to be "sexually immoral". Published in 1934, "Tropic of Cancer" is written in the first person and talked about a nomadic life in Paris and well...detailed accounts of his sexual experiences. Now...anyone interested to read this book?
7. Edith Wharton
Her French was fluent and so it might be correct to say that she was the most French among all American writers who found peace in the mystery and romance provided by Paris. Her novel, The Age of Innocence, won a Pulitzer Prize for Fiction in 1921.
So many novels and short stories from these authors, and we're not even halfway through the list of writers who went to Paris for self-imposed literary exile. Have you read any of the works of these authors?
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