Creating Colette: From Ingenue to Libertine 1873-1913 - Hardcover

Francis, Claude; Gontier, Fernande

3.78

27 ratings by Goodreads

9781883642914: Creating Colette: From Ingenue to Libertine 1873-1913

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 1883642914 ISBN 13: 9781883642914

Publisher: Steerforth Pr, 1998

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Book by Francis, Claude, Gontier, Fernande

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Review:

Colette is one of the most prominent of 20th-century French novelists, famous for turning the raw materials of her life into the captivating--and daringly frank--fiction of the Claudine novels. Literary critics and biographers have made many bold claims on her behalf (and justifiably so); Claude Francis and Fernande Gontier are no exception. "Like Proust, her contemporary," they write in their introduction, "she swept through the psychological liberation of homosexuality and bisexuality. But she did so more daringly than Proust, who treated homosexuality in his works but denied his actual sexual preference.... Colette not only wrote but openly lived according to her beliefs." When she left her first husband for a woman known as "France's most notorious cross-dresser," tongues wagged, but Colette brazenly insisted on the right to live "in the most normal manner I know, which is according to [my] pleasure."

Creating Colette examines the first 40 years of the author's life, from her childhood in the rural village of Saint-Saveur to her rise to stardom among "Tout-Paris" (the "smart set," as it were) as a writer-actress. Along the way, the two biographers shatter the myths surrounding her marriage to Henri Gauthier-Villars (a.k.a. Willy), rediscovering him as critical mentor rather than insensitive exploiter. They also reveal that her libertine sexuality was primarily shaped not by Willy, but by her mother, Sido, whose views on childrearing stemmed from the social-utopia ideals of philosopher Charles Fourier. Creating Colette is a charming biography that offers tantalizing glimpses into turn-of-the-century Paris society, sure to appeal to readers regardless of their previous familiarity with her work. --Ron Hogan

From Kirkus Reviews:

Any biography of the celebrated French author of Gigi, Chri, and the Claudine novels would have to be replete with juicily scandalous detail. This entry, covering the first half of her life, does not disappoint. Colette's novels of the demimonde and Parisian caf society were noteworthy for both their high quality and their autobiographical content. Her numerous marriages, and her hetero and lesbian affairs, provided Colette with a subject and a lifestyle that made her one of the notorious fin-de-sicle celebrities. Francis and Gontier (co-authors of Simone de Beauvoir: A Life, A Love Story, 1987, etc.) sift through rumor, legend, and shadowy fact to piece together a life that would cause modern jet-setters to blanch, perhaps. Colette's contention that she had black ancestors has usually been dismissed by her biographers as a literary conceitas yet another example of her self-promotional efforts. Here, though, the authors dig deep to follow her maternal lineage to a black grandfather from Martinique. They also make great strides at dispelling Colette's bitter late-career assertion that she was bullied into writing by her first husband, the publishing scion Henry Gauthier-Villara. Known as Willy, he was a leading literary figure of the day and, in fact, collaborated with his wife on dozens of novels, essays, and plays. He also gave her syphilis. Colette and Willy both conducted numerous affairs, she (notably) with the Marquise de Morny. Known as ``Frances most notorious cross-dresser,'' Missy, as she was called, and Colette staged a pantomime that summoned the police. Colette's oeuvre remains of mild interest. Colette the woman is eternally fascinating. (b&w photos, not seen) -- Copyright �1998, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.

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