The London house which sheltered the stormy relationship between Arthur Rimbaud and Paul Verlaine is for sale, which threatens the project to make it an artistic place.
Read also: Rimbaud and Verlaine, too free for the Panthéon
During their scandalous relationship, the two legends of 19th century French poetry had lived for several months in 1873 in this house in the district of Camden, in the north of the British capital.
Read also: A rare drawing by Verlaine and Rimbaud up for auction
This is where the two lovers broke up after Verlaine slapped Rimbaud with a fish.
Their passion was brought to the screen in
Total Eclipse
(1995), with Leonardo Di Caprio as Rimbaud, Verlaine being played by David Thewlis.
The £ 1.75million (nearly two million euros) house is on the market after its current owner, Michael Corby, backed a project to turn it into an open '
house of poetry
' visitors and the organization of cultural events.
Mr Corby could not be reached by AFP on Saturday, but the managing director of the Rimbaud and Verlaine Foundation, Graham Henderson, confirmed that the house was for sale.
"
It’s a shame.
We really hope that Mr. Corby changes his mind,
”Graham Henderson told AFP, adding that he was looking for a solution.
Patti Smith campaigned to save her
The British foundation, which already organizes artistic events and hopes to make the house a place open to the public, with a café and a bookshop.
The house was put on the market in October, according to real estate site RightMove, but the description makes no mention of the identity of its illustrious former occupants.
Located at 8 Royal College Street, the house had been threatened with destruction due to a developer's plan to make smaller houses.
Artists like rock star Patti Smith and writer Julian Barnes had campaigned to save her.
The current owner bought the Georgian period house in 2007. He told Camden New Journal that his "
first goal
" was to "
restore the place and then use it to promote their work
".