"The Romantic myth of Bohemia originates in the early nineteenth century as a way of describing the new economic and cultural conditions artists and writers faced as the system of aristocratic patronage collapsed in the wake of republican revolution. This book analyses the bohemian myth likening the artist's vagabond career to the "gypsy" life by discussing its various fictional manifestations; its historical presence in different bohemian communities; its political implications as a counter to the ascendancy of a bourgeois, commercial class; and its role in the development of both modern art and popular culture. It concludes by discussing the legacy of the bohemian myth today, arguing that the political and cultural conditions that originated that myth no longer obtain, rendering the idea of "contemporary Bohemia" problematic"--

The nineteenth-century Romantic myth of Bohemia emerged to describe the new conditions faced by artists and writers, who after the previous system of aristocratic patronage collapsed were free to move around in search of success. Yet most real-life bohemians are uninterested in commercial gain and are not so itinerant after all. Tracing these contradictions in bohemian cultures and lifestyles from the early nineteenth century to the present. David Weir explores the myth of Bohemia as it developed in various forms of expression--novels, plays, operas, films--and in key cities, including Paris, Munich, and New York. He concludes with a discussion of the legacy of Bohemia today--back cover.