Reanimating literary house museums in France: The homes and haunts of George Sand and Honoré de Balzac

Literary house museums occupy a complex position in the international heritage industry. Curators must strike a balance between commemorating the immaterial nature of individual writers’ work while preserving their material archives, thus “freezing” some aspects of history while “unfreezing” others. This chapter focuses on the creative techniques employed at the Maison de George Sand, located deep in central France (Nohant-Vic), by comparing its displays to those of the Paris-based Maison de Balzac and Musée de la vie romantique. At each site, stakeholders have developed different strategies for addressing the frequently incompatible mission of commemorating the past, celebrating an individual’s cultural accomplishments, preserving architectural elements, and making all three relevant to modern audiences no longer familiar with the literature whose excellence once prompted the preservation of these historic homes.