Colette Libri

This volume brings together for the first time in English a collection including a series of stories and a novella, formed of a group of linked autobiographical pieces first published posthumously in France as Mon Amie Valentine.

Colette, prodded by her first husband, Willy, began her writing career with Claudine at School, which catapulted the young author into instant, sensational success. Among the most autobiographical of Colette's works, these four novels are dominated by the child-woman Claudine, whose strength, humor, and zest for living make her seem almost a symbol for the life force.Janet Flanner described these books as "amazing writing on the almost girlish search for the absolute of happiness in physical love . . . recorded by a literary brain always wide awake on the pillow."

The narrative explores the tragicomic love affair between Léa de Lonval, an aging courtesan, and her young lover, Chéri. Their passionate relationship faces turmoil when Chéri marries the much younger Marie-Laure, highlighting the complexities of love, desire, and societal expectations. Colette's nuanced portrayal of these characters delves into themes of aging, loss, and the bittersweet nature of romance, making it a compelling exploration of human emotions and relationships.

At age 82, Clifton Fadiman continues his prolific publishing career, here presenting 62 of the world's best short stories from 16 countries. His criteria? "Each story had to be both interesting and of high literary merit." Fadiman fulfills both requirements and much more, offering a cornucopia of superior 20th-century writers that includes Franz Kafka, D. H. Lawrence, Isaac Babel, F. Scott Fitzgerald, William Faulkner, Ernest Hemingway, John Cheever, Sean O'Faolain, Graham Greene, Robert Penn Warren, Colette, John Updike, Donald Barthelme, and James Thurber. (Regrettably, J. D. Salinger is not included due to lack of permission.) Here is a truly remarkable collection of this century's short stories that readers from all over the world will read with delight.

THE STORIES THAT INSPIRED THE FILM COLETTE, out Jan 2019. In Claudine at School we meet Claudine as a teenager, wickedly witty, rebellious and effervescent, competing with her new headmistress for the affections of the pretty mistress Miss Aimee. schovat popis

Comforted by her devoted maid Melie, her slug-obsessed Papa, and the trustworthy cat Fanchette, Claudine's instinctive curiosity gradually leads to an awakened interest in the city. schovat popis

With the help of Claudine, Annie takes steps to empower her own life, a life away from her husband.Though Colette's intoxicating series of novels emerges a portrait of Claudine an intelligent, modern woman whose life is always honest, passionate and inspiring. schovat popis