La Vie de Bohème

"La Vie de Bohème" is an often-adapted story first appearing in Henri Murger's magazine articles in the early 1800s. These were turned into a play, "La Vie de Bohème", in 1849, and later were compiled into the book "Scènes de la Vie de Bohème" in 1851. It is a widely influential work, and has been adapted into a number of successful operas and films.

Plot summary

The story includes a group of friends in the Bohemian artistic subculture of France (see Bohemianism). As the group is poor, and some of its female members work as courtesans, challenging personal situations arise when one of the characters, who suffers from tuberculosis, must balance survival against romantic love.

Works involving the "La bohème" Theme

*gutenberg author | id=Henry_Murger | name=Henry Murger
*"La Vie de Bohème" — short story by Henry Murger
*"La Vie de Bohème" — play, 1848
*"Scenes de la Vie de Bohème" — book, 1849
*"La bohème" — opera by Giacomo Puccini, 1896
*"La bohème" — opera by Ruggero Leoncavallo, 1897
* "La Bohème" — an MGM silent film starring Lilian Gish, 1926
* "Mimi" — British film starring Gertrude Lawrence, 1935
*"La Vie de Bohème" — jazz album by pianist Dave Burrell, 1969
*"La Vie de Bohème" — film directed by Aki Kaurismäki, 1990
*"Rent" — musical by Jonathan Larson, 1996
* "Moulin Rouge!" — A film created in 2001, based parts of its plot on the original story