“Lovers at the Chameleon Club, Paris 1932” by Francine Prose: a novelization of the life of Violette Morris, who led “a double life”

This novel, discussed by Francine Prose in a seven-minute radio interview (1), is based on the life of a real person, Violette Morris (2), and her association with a real Paris nightclub, Le Monocle (3).

What was it about this history, symbolized by this nightclub, that resonated with Francine Prose? In the words of one character, “What moved and gladdened me was that the club’s popularity, its longevity, and its very existence seemed to prove that each of us leads a double life” (4, p. 133).

Does Francine Prose, as a fiction writer, lead a double, multiple personality, life? She has said that she does, in a brief essay on her creative process, “She and I…and Someone Else” (5).

1. http://pd.npr.org/anon.npr-mp3/npr/wesun/2014/05/20140518_wesun_novel_humanizes_the_hyena_of_the_gestapo.mp3

2. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Violette_Morris

3. https://rarehistoricalphotos.com/le-monocle-1932/

4. Francine Prose. Lovers at the Chameleon Club, Paris 1932. New York, HarperCollins, 2014.

5. Francine Prose. “She and I…and Someone Else,” pp. 155-157, in Daniel Halpern (Editor), Who’s Writing This? Fifty-five Writers on Humor, Courage, Self-Loathing, and the Creative Process. New York, Ecco/Harper Perennial, 1995.