Here is a map of the key places in The Alchemist of Paris. Creating a book map has been on my to-do list for ages and I’m excited at how it turned out!
This map posed the challenge of portraying a city in an earlier time period, and also a city which many people know so well. I drew the pictures separately in the digital illustration app Procreate and then assembled the map in photoshop (a great help when placing the real-life buildings in the right spot, which is harder than I thought).
When I was writing The Alchemist of Paris I walked through all these areas, ensuring that Elise’s journeys across Paris were possible. But Elise’s Paris of 1820 was a medieval city, before the grand boulevards and street widening projects of the late 19th century, so much had to be imagined. I compared a historical map with current maps to show the general street pattern and used the place names of the time. If you’d like to know more about what was there in 1820 and what was not, you can read this post.
While I was drawing from my photographs, I realised how nostalgic I am for exploring new places with a map. I hope this map both inspires you to read or re-read The Alchemist of Paris and start dreaming of a time when we can all travel again!