Black Venus by James MacManus

A
vivid novel of Charles Baudelaire and his lover Jeanne Duval, the Haitian
cabaret singer who inspired his most famous and controversial poems, set in
nineteenth-century Paris.




For
readers who have been drawn to The
Paris Wife, Black Venus captures
the artistic scene in the great French city decades earlier, when the likes
of Dumas and Balzac argued literature in the cafes of the Left Bank. Among
the bohemians, the young Charles Baudelaire stood out—dressed impeccably thanks
to an inheritance that was quickly vanishing. Still at work on the poems that
he hoped would make his name, he spent his nights enjoying the alcohol, opium,
and women who filled the seedy streets of the city.




One
woman would catch his eye—a beautiful Haitian cabaret singer named Jeanne
Duval. Their lives would remain forever intertwined thereafter, and their
romance would inspire his most infamous poems—leading to the banning of his
masterwork, Les Fleurs du Mal, and
a scandalous public trial for obscenity. 




James
MacManus's Black Venus re-creates
the classic Parisian literary world in vivid detail, complete with not just an
affecting portrait of the famous poet but also his often misunderstood,
much-maligned muse.
















Black Venus is a novel about Charles Baudelaire and his mistress, Jeanne Duval. Charles
Baudelaire was not a man of affluence, however, he yearned to be so. He desired
the luxuries of life and strived for it, even at the risk of his own
reputation. He spent money lavishly, gambling and womanizing, even indulging in
drink and drugs. His mother and stepfather often came to his rescue when his
debts got out of control and imposed a strict allowance, severely restricting
him.









Sketch of Jeanne Duval




And then in an
obscure cabaret, he met the woman who would become his obsession, an alluring
Creole woman from Haiti named Jeanne Duval. He dubbed her his Black Venus. She
captivated him in every way and he wanted to possess her at all costs. She
inspired his poetry - graphically sexual, explicit, and descriptive. She used Charles
as a means to raise her own status in life. Jeanne even made clothing purchases
at elite shops and charged them to Charles’ mother. Jeanne took everything she
could from the relationship that was tumultuous and lasted for decades.





Sketch of Jeanne Duval


The novel truly takes
the reader in the 19th century France, the fear of the revolution,
the artists, the cafes. The poems Duval inspired were published, but due to
their sexuality, were banned by the government, bankrupting his publisher and
rendering Charles a very poor man indeed. Edward Manet befriends Charles and
soon Manet paints Jeanne. Unlike Charles, however, his work brought Manet fame
and wealth, and increased Duval’s fame.









Painting of Jeanne Duval by Edouard Manet




Black Venus is a
poignant novel, heart-breaking and forlorn, almost a tragedy. It is a tale of
betrayal, jealousy, obsession, and forbidden love. A magnetic story to say the
least!















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