Colette
Kathleen AntonioliThe life and legacy of literature’s most artful self-creation: Colette.
French novelist Sidonie-Gabrielle Colette (1873–1954) was a strikingly modern celebrity. The most photographed author of the twentieth century, her marketing genius stretched from hair products themed after her most famous character to her own line of cosmetics. Beloved during her lifetime by critics on both the left and the right, and later embraced by feminists of the 1960s and ’70s, Colette’s works explored women’s lives, from schooling to careers, maternity, ageing and sexuality. Colette’s life was no less varied than her often self-referential works, including affairs with men and women, three marriages, a stage career and roles as a journalist and literary editor. Kathleen Antonioli explores Colette’s storied life, work, private correspondence and carefully crafted public persona.
The life and legacy of literature’s most artful self-creation: Colette.
French novelist Sidonie-Gabrielle Colette (1873–1954) was a strikingly modern celebrity. The most photographed author of the twentieth century, her marketing genius stretched from hair products themed after her most famous character to her own line of cosmetics. Beloved during her lifetime by critics on both the left and the right, and later embraced by feminists of the 1960s and ’70s, Colette’s works explored women’s lives, from schooling to careers, maternity, ageing and sexuality. Colette’s life was no less varied than her often self-referential works, including affairs with men and women, three marriages, a stage career and roles as a journalist and literary editor. Kathleen Antonioli explores Colette’s storied life, work, private correspondence and carefully crafted public persona.
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Antonioli has done masterful work weaving together the often contradictory threads of Colette’s work, her biography, and her reception over the past century. This book has much to offer to both readers new to Colette and to those familiar with her oeuvre and with the French literary landscape she redefined.
'Patricia Tilburg, Professor at Davidson College and author of Colette's Republic
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With extensive research and fresh insights, Antonioli tackles some of the less-explored aspects of Colette’s complex life, work, and legacy, offering a nuanced portrait of Colette as the astute steward of her own literary reputation and persona, in all her fascinating contradictions.
'Rachel Careau, translator of Colette’s The Pure and the Impure and Chéri and The End of Chéri
Introduction
1 Claudine
2 Renée Néré
3 Léa
4 Madame Colette
5 Colette!
References
Select Bibliography
Acknowledgements
Photo Acknowledgements
Kathleen Antonioli is Associate Professor of French at Kansas State University. She is the author of several articles on Colette.