Colette

Colette, the pen name of French novelist Sidonie-Gabrielle Colette, produced more than fifty books in her long career, and was often the source of controversy. She flaunted her lesbian affairs and her reputation was severely tarnished by her collaboration with the Vichy regime. Many of her novels explore the tension between women’s desire and struggle for independence and their simultaneous need for love and passion. Her most important works include The Pure and the Impure (1932), Cheri (1920), The Last of Cheri (1926), The Vagabond (1910), My Mother’s House (1922), and Sido (1929).