Colette

Alison S. Fell (University of Leeds)

Ed. by David Williams, University of Sheffield
The Literary Encyclopedia. Volume 1.5.2.06: French Writing and Culture: Early Twentieth-century , 1900-1945.
Vol. editors: Kate Averis (University of Western Australia), Hugo Azerad (University of Cambridge), Patrick ffrench (King's College London), Edward Forman (University of Bristol), Akane Kawakami (Birkbeck, University of London), Siobhán McIlvanney (King's College London), Sinan Richards (King's College London), Tim Unwin (University of Bristol), David Williams (University of Sheffield)

Dates

Born 28 Jan 1873
Died 3 Aug 1954
Activity 1900-1954

Places

Born in France
Active in France; United States

Activities

Primary

Novelist

Other

Editor
Film/TV Script-writer/ Screenwriter
Historian / Chronicler
Letter-writer/ Diarist
Librettist
Literary Critic/ Historian
Man/ Woman of Letters
Playwright / Dramatist
Theatre actor
Travel writer

Resources

Colette's Works

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Colette (born 28 January 1873; died 3 August 1954), actress, novelist, journalist, autobiographer and, towards the end of her life,

grande dame

of French letters, is a writer whose life and works are inextricably intertwined. Colette’s life was notoriously full of scandal, including semi-nude appearances on stage, a lesbian affair with the Marquise de Belboeuf – alias “Missy” – three marriages, and relationships with younger men, notably her sixteen-year-old stepson, Bertrand de Jouvenel. Yet such was her popularity that on her death she was awarded the honour of a secular state funeral attended by thousands of admirers (the Cardinal-Archbishop of Paris had vetoed a religious ceremony on the grounds that she had been twice divorced and had not received the last sacraments).…

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2503 words

Citation: Fell, Alison S.. "Colette". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 13 April 2005 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/speople.php?rec=true&UID=951, accessed 21 November 2024.]

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