Tag: vercors

Paris – mostly science-fictional, mostly morbid

The grave of Georges Méliès...
The grave of Georges Méliès…
...and stumbled upon by chance the next day, the site of Théâtre Robert-Houdin
…and stumbled upon by chance the next day, the site of Théâtre Robert-Houdin
The graves of François Marie Charles Fourier and of
The graves of François Marie Charles Fourier and of
Claude Henri de Rouvroy, comte de Saint-Simon, utopian socialists both
Claude Henri de Rouvroy, comte de Saint-Simon, utopian socialists both,
of Louis-Sébastien Mercier,
of Louis-Sébastien Mercier,
author of L'An 2440, rêve s'il en fut jamais (1770),
author of L’An 2440, rêve s’il en fut jamais (1770),
and of Gérard de Nerval
and of Gérard de Nerval
and of Nadar (Gaspard-Félix Tournachon), pioneer of aeronautics, photography and, perhaps unsurprisingly, aerial photography.
and of Nadar (Gaspard-Félix Tournachon), pioneer of aeronautics, photography and, perhaps unsurprisingly, aerial photography.
Fellow balloon pioneers, Joseph Crocé-Spinelli and Théodore Henri Sivel, fared less well,
Fellow balloon pioneers, Joseph Crocé-Spinelli and Théodore Henri Sivel, fared less well,
reaching 28,000 feet but dying in the attempt.
reaching 28,000 feet but dying in the attempt.
A plaque for, not the grave, of Vercors (Jean Bruller), author of Borderline, The Imsurgents and Sylva.
A plaque for, not the grave of, Vercors (Jean Bruller), author of Borderline, The Insurgents and Sylva.
Back to graves. Jean-Marie-Mathias-Philippe-Auguste, comte de Villiers de l'Isle-Adam, author of The Future Eve.
Back to graves. Jean-Marie-Mathias-Philippe-Auguste, comte de Villiers de l’Isle-Adam, author of The Future Eve.
Raymond Roussel, author of Impressions d'Afrique and of Locus Solus.
Raymond Roussel, author of Impressions d’Afrique and of Locus Solus.
Émile Souvestre, author of The World As It Will Be.
Émile Souvestre, author of The World As It Will Be.
Paul Éluard, who did not write sf, but whose poetry collection Capitale de la douleur features heavily in Godard's Alphaville.
Paul Éluard, who did not write sf but whose poetry collection Capitale de la douleur features heavily in Godard’s Alphaville.
And, of course, Oscar Wilde.
And, of course, Oscar Wilde.
Étienne-Gaspard Robertson,
Étienne-Gaspard Robertson,
physicist, stage magician,
physicist, stage magician,
balloonist (inevitably) and
balloonist (inevitably) and
phantasmagoria pioneer.
phantasmagoria pioneer.
The Tomb of the Biologically Divergent Working Class.
The Tomb of the Biologically Divergent Working Class.
A little something...
A little something…
...for fans of...
…for fans of…
Harry Potter.
Harry Potter.
Some good old-fashioned surveillance.
Some good old-fashioned surveillance…
...and a remind of Muybridge.
…and a reminder of Muybridge.
An sf shop,
An sf shop,
an sf bar and...
an sf bar and…
...a bunker anti-zombies.
…a bunker anti-zombies.
And this is where we stayed. The hotel where Breton and Soupault (before his expulsion from the Surrealists for pursuing individualist and stupid literary projects) invented automatic writing and co-wrote The Magnetic Fields.
And this is where we stayed. The hotel where Breton and Soupault (before his expulsion from the Surrealists for pursuing individualist and stupid literary projects) invented automatic writing and co-wrote The Magnetic Fields.
Not just in the hotel, mind, but in the actual fucking room where they did so.
Not just in the hotel, mind, but in the actual fucking room where they did so.
The room with this creepy-ass shit directly above the bed.
The room with this creepy-ass shit directly above the bed.