The cover of a 1908 edition of The Horla by Guy de Maupassant

Sneaky Racism in a Ghost Story

Guy de Maupassant’s spooky story "The Horla" captured French anxieties about race, foreigners, and contagious diseases.
Rosa Bonheur in her atelier (1893) by Georges Achille-Fould

Rosa Bonheur’s Permission to Wear Pants

One of the few women permitted to wear trousers during the Third Republic, the French artist developed a sense of self through her clothing choices.
Close up of an eye

Finding a Murderer in a Victim’s Eye

In late 19th-century forensics, optography was all the rage. This pseudoscience held that what someone saw just before death would be imprinted on their eye.