6.2 /10 1 Votes
Originally published 1888 | 3.1/5 Goodreads | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Similar Works by Pierre Loti, Classical Studies books | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Madame Chrysanthème is a novel by Pierre Loti, presented as the autobiographical journal of a naval officer who was temporarily married to a rashamen (geisha) while he was stationed in Nagasaki, Japan. It closely follows the journal he kept of his Summer 1885 affair with Kiku (Chrysanthemum) née Kane a few blocks north of Glover Garden in the Jūzenji (十善寺) neighbourhood; modern day Jūninmachi (十人町); from whence she fled to hometown Takeda due to xenophobia. Originally written in French and published in 1887, Madame Chrysanthème was very successful in its day, running to 25 editions in the first five years of its publication with translations into several languages including English. It has been considered a key text in shaping western attitudes toward Japan at the turn of the 20th century.
André Messager's 1893 opera of the same name is based on it, as are some aspects of Puccini's 1904 opera Madama Butterfly.