Chapter 2 – The Women They Come and Go
“he made his way across the square to the edge of the Montmartre, where he looked out over Paris, shining in the noon day sun”
View of Paris from Montmartre looking south-west over St. Denis. Today, of course, there are no more factories streaming smoke, but in Lucien’s day, there would have been dozens of smoke stacks, and you see that in a lot of Impressionist paintings.
Stairs today leading down the back side of Montmartre to Rue Caulincourt, where Henri and Lucien kept their studio.
“Lucien set off down the two-hundred and forty-two steps to that very same boulevard into the neighborhood around Place Pigalle”
The stairs from Montmartre to Place Pigalle today. Lucien would have been coming from even higher on the butte than this picture shows.
“In the salon of the brothel on Rue d’Aboise, a girl in a red negligee who had been dozing on a velvet divan when he came in…”
Two Friends – Henri Toulouse-Lautrec
Place Pigalle, which was alive with cafés, brothels, cabarets, and on some mornings, the “parade of models” around the fountain in the square.
Place Pigalle – Felix Buhot – 1878
You can see the fort on the right.
“I will vouch for that,” said Mireille, who scampered away, puffing
like a tiny marshmallow locomotive. “He loves that fucking hat.”
Drawing by Elias D’Elia
Eli drew this cartoon for me, but he came up with a much more 21st Century cute Mireille than the real one, as you’ll see below…
“Lucien was anxious waiting among the whores.“
Parlor of a Brothel – Henri Toulouse-Lautrec
“I know you,” said the round blond. “You’re Monsieur Lessard, the baker.”
In Le Rat Mort – Henri Toulouse-Lautrec
This painting was actually of a patron of the restaurant Dead Rat, described in the scene where Henri and Lucien go to breakfast, but I found the image after I had already written the brothel scene and it was uncanny how close the woman was to the whore I described, so it went into the book. I realized later when I went through my photos, that I’d seen this painting in the Courtauld Gallery in London, so maybe it had stuck in my mind.
Mirielle and Henri Toulouse-Lautrec, with a collection of his brothel paintings. As you can see, Mireille, was, indeed, as tiny as Henri, and she was reputed to be his favorite.Photo by Henri’s friend, Maurice Guilbert, who we’ll see more from later.
“They had both attended Corman’s studio with Vincent, painted along side of him, drank, laughed, and argued color theory with him in the cafes of Montmartre.”
Vincent Van Gogh – by Henri Toulouse-Lautrec – 1886 or 87 when they were all studying at Corman’s Studio.
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I love the illustration by Eli, will that be in the book?
Eli’s illustrative interpretations are really cool! Where can I see more of his work?
There are more in this guide, and even now, 8/15/12, Eli is at work on some more. There are no plans right now to put them in a printed book.
Having never been to France, you, showing us these photos and paintings have brought us more into the experience of your characters, or rather, your version of the characters, which made these few pages of reading very enjoyable. I wish that more writers would do this when telling stories of actual places and/or people. It reminds me of having visited the Monterey area in California several times before reading Canary Row, and loving the book that much more. Thank you Author Guy for this X-Mas gift. I hope to see you for your next book signing a few months from now in the L.A. area.
I agree–I really like reading this blog alongside the book, and seeing the photos! Let’s hope this starts a trend…
Am sorely disappointed that your tour does not include any stops in Ohio but am really enjoying this first chapter. Also, excellent choice on the name of the young blond girl 🙂
Not my choice. That was actually her name. But yes, good choice by here parents.
I just wanted to say that you have some dedicated admirers in Germany as well and that we too would love to enjoy you reading from your fantastic new book! How about you come over for the next LitCologne, one of the biggest and best literature festivals in Europe? Thanks for reanimating one of my favourite periods of art! How about you writing about Renaissance next? Would include a lovely stay in Florence and Tuscany for you too! 😉 Thank you for your creativity!
LOVE the illustrations by Elias D’Elia…There ought to be a published companion to the book so we can all own them…:) So far the book is amazing…Well done…
This is the future of publishing. The chapter guide is even better than my previous google forays while reading A Dirty Job !
Though the Morrigan would have loved Paris.
I’ve enjoyed listening to the audio version. A note on pronunciation, though: “Mireille” is more of a two-syllable word that sounds kind of like “mee-RAY”, not a three-syllable “meer-ee-ELLE”.
Huge fan of Sacré Bleu, and tickled pink to find this chapter guide to add so much depth to an already fascinating story/history!
Quick correction on the first photo for chapter 2 – St Denis is just about due north of Montmartre.