Carmen is a novella by Prosper Mérimée, written and first published in 1845. It has been adapted into a number of dramatic works, including the famous opera of the same name by Georges Bizet.
Mérimée's own watercolor Carmen
Opening page of the original book
Illustration of Carmen (József Árpád Koppay, 1891)
Statue of Carmen on the Paseo Alcalde Marqués de Contadero, Seville
Prosper Mérimée was a French writer in the movement of Romanticism, one of the pioneers of the novella, a short novel or long short story. He was also a noted archaeologist and historian, an important figure in the history of architectural preservation. He is best known for his novella Carmen, which became the basis of Bizet's opera Carmen. He learned Russian, a language for which he had great affection, before translating the work of several notable Russian writers, including Pushkin and Gogol, into French. From 1830 until 1860 he was the inspector of French historical monuments, responsible for the protection of many historic sites, including the medieval citadel of Carcassonne and the restoration of the façade of the cathedral of Notre-Dame de Paris. Along with the writer George Sand, he discovered the series of tapestries called The Lady and the Unicorn, arranging for their preservation. He was instrumental in the creation of Musée national du Moyen Âge in Paris, where the tapestries now are displayed. The official database of French monuments, the Base Mérimée, bears his name.
Prosper Mérimée
Frontispiece of La Guzla, showing the purported author, Hyacinthe Maglanovich
One of The Lady and the Unicorn tapestries discovered in 1841 by Mérimée and George Sand in the Château of Boussac
The fortified medieval town of Carcassonne, made a monument in 1860