Colette
Colette
Sidonie-Gabrielle Colette (French: [sidɔni ɡabʁijɛl kɔlɛt]; 28 January 1873 – 3 August 1954), known mononymously as Colette or as Colette Willy, was a French author and woman of letters. She was also a mime, actress, and journalist. Colette is best known in the English-speaking world for her 1944 novella Gigi), which was the basis for the 1958 film) and the 1973 stage production) of the same name. Her short story collection The Tendrils of the Vine is also famous in France.
Career
In 1893, Colette married Henry Gauthier-Villars (1859–1931), an author and publisher 14 years her senior, who used the pen name "Willy". Her first four novels – the four Claudine stories): Claudine à l'école (1900), Claudine à Paris (1901), Claudine en ménage (1902), and Claudine s'en va (1903) – appeared under his name. (The four are published in English as Claudine at School, Claudine in Paris, Claudine Married, and Claudine and Annie.)
Career
!Colette, painted c. 1896 by Jacques Humbert