Most of the famous writers of the first half of the twentieth
century lived on the Left Bank, that is, south of the Seine, especially
in the 6th, 7th, and 14th arrondissements. Today we'll start our
tour through the 6th arronidissement by taking the Metro to the stop Pont
Neuf. Walk across the bridge (despite its name, it is actually the
oldest of the Parisian bridges) to the left bank of the Seine. Follow
the street that leads from the Pont Neuf, the rue Dauphine, for two blocks,
and then turn left on the rue Christine. After being evicted from
their apartment at the more famous address on rue de Fleurus,
Gertrude
Stein and Alice
B. Toklas lived here, with some brief absences,
until the death of Stein in 1946; Toklas remained here until 1964, three
years before her death.
5,
rue Christine
Retrace your steps and work your way on small streets
to the west until in three blocks you come to the rue Bonaparte.
Turn right and on your right you will find the rue des Beaux Arts.
L'Hotel
des Beaux Arts
Here, at number 13, L'Hotel, Thomas Wolfe lived for a year beginning in 1925. There are plaques at the hotel commemorating the frequent visits of Borges between 1977 and 1984, as well as one for the most famous event in the hotel's history: the death there of Oscar Wilde on November 30, 1900. There is no plaque for Wolfe.
Now return to the rue Bonaparte and walk south.
You quickly arrive at the rue Jacob. Turn left, and at number 20,
you will find the home where Natalie
Clifford Barney lived for sixty years, beginning
in 1909.
James
Baldwin also lived somewhere on this charming
street.
20,
rue Jacob
General view of rue Jacob
Return to the rue Bonaparte and continue walking south
on it. The Hotel St-Germain-des-Pres is located at number 36.
Janet Flanner, whose "Letter from Paris" was a regular feature of The
New Yorker lived here for fifty years, beginning in 1925. Henry
Miller also took a room here--on the top floor
under the roof in 1930.
Hotel
St-Germain-des-Pres
Continue following the rue Bonaparte until you reach the
major street, St-Germain-des-Pres; turn right after a few blocks onto rue
de Seine. In front of you at a short distance you will see the Palais
du Luxembourg, home of the French Senate. As you walk down the street,
its name changes to the rue de Tournon. Just on the corner, as the
street ends, is number 20, where Booth
Tarkington lived from 1905 to 1908.
20,
rue de Tournon
Turn left on the rue de Vaugirard, follow it in front
of the Senate, and turn left when it crosses the rue Monsieur le Prince.
At humber 49, Henry Wadsworth Longellow, at the age of 19, took a room
in 1826.
49, rue de Vaugirard
But the most famous resident of the street is a bit farther
up, on your left as you walk northward. In 1948, Richard
Wright and his family moved into a third floor apartment where he lived
until 1959 and where he wrote two novels as well as other works.
On the outside of the building is a plaque commemorating his stay there
:
