The Collected Stories of Colette by Sidonie-Gabrielle Colette, ed., and with an introduction by, Robert Phelps. Highly recommended.

According to the introduction, this collection represents 100 stories taken from a dozen volumes published during Colette's lifetime. They are categorised as "Early Stories," Backstage at the Music Hall," "Varieties of Human Nature," and "Love." Some, like the Clouk/Chéri stories, appear to be fiction, while many, like "The Rainy Moon" and "Bella-Vista," seem to be taken straight from Colette's varied life and acquaintances.

Whether writing fiction or chronicling fact, whether writing in the third-person omniscient or in the first person, Colette herself is always a character-rarely as an influencer, that is, one whose actions or choices drive the plot. Colette's preferred role is as observer-and it is one for which she is well suited.

An inveterate sensualist and a former music-hall performer, Colette integrates her characters (real and fictional) with everything around them-their clothes (costumes), their abodes, dressing rooms, and haunts (sets), and their neighborhoods and towns (theatres). Much of Colette's writing, no matter how mundane the surface subject, is about art-the art of living and, notably, the art of loving. In "My Goddaughter," the subject tells her godmother how she injured herself with scissors and a curling iron and recounts her mother's reaction. "She said that I had ruined her daughter for her! She said, 'What have you done with my beautiful hair which I tended so patiently? . . . And that cheek, who gave you permission to spoil it! . . . I've taken years, I've spent my days and nights, trembling over this masterpiece. . . ."

Colette is attuned to everything, every sense, every nuance. "A faint fragrance did indeed bring to my nostrils the memory of various scents which are at their strongest in autumn." ("Gibriche") ". . . set in a bracelet, which slithered between her fingers like a cold and supple snake." ("The Bracelet") " . . . the supper of rare fruits, an[d]of ice water sparkling in the thin glasses, as intoxicating as champagne . . ." ("Florie") "Peroxided hair, light-colored eyes, white teeth, something about her of an appetizing but slightly vulgar young washerwoman." ("Gitanette")

Colette does not pretend to be an objective observer of human behaviour; she does not hesitate to express to the reader her weariness with certain individuals or situations, and her stories of her vain, pretentious, overbearing friend Valentine reveal her jaded and waning affection. She knows this woman so well that she sees her almost as Valentine sees herself-a drama queen acting out stories, roles, and games without depth of feeling for them. "What Must We Look Like?" becomes Valentine's driving philosophy, to which Colette responds with "a mild, a kindly pity." In "The Hard Worker," Colette says, "I can see she does not hate him, but I cannot see she loves him either." What Colette sees-and does not see-is to be respected.

Some stories, such as "The Sick Child," are vivid and imaginative and reveal Colette's amazing ability to think and dream like a gifted child. "The Advice," with its mundane beginning and premise and twisted, horrifying ending would enhance any collection of gothic or mystery tales. Other stories, like "Gibriche," several of the other music-hall stories, and "Bella-Vista," tackle topics that even today remain controversial. "Bella-Vista," in which Colette's moods seem to wane with every familiarity achieved with her hostesses, offers an ending that is heavily foreshadowed throughout but is surprising and gruesome nonetheless.

Most of the stories, whether fiction or nonfiction, seem to come from life in one way or another. The quantity of stories and the quality of the collection reveal the incredible scope of experience of Colette, the dry, often weary yet obsessive observer, interpreter, and chronicler of human nature. As Judith Thurman says in her introduction to Colette's work, The Pure and the Impure, "This great ode to emptiness was written by a woman who felt full." As well she should.

Diane L. Schirf, 27 May 2003.

Ok. You've read the Claudine novels, and Cheri and the Return of Cheri. Now what? There are other novels (The Vagabond, Gigi, My Mother's House) but there are these short stories that are "must-reads."

Colette was one of France's most distinguished writers. Though not a writer of massive books like Victor Hugo or Proust, or of psychological novels like Zola or Flaubert, she caught that French essence of individuality and quirkiness and the golden age of La Belle Epoque before World War One changed France forever. Her books are pure joy as are these short stories. If you have NOT read Colette, you are in for a treat. (And don't neglect Claudine or Cheri. )

If you're looking for a refreshing deviation from the mean of women writers, then Colette is it. Her stories offer a pleasurable clearing of the literary palate.

This is one of the best books I have ever read. I recently re-read it after a gap of around 15 years and enjoyed it as much as ever. It is an elegantly written story of first love, relationships with parents in the 1920s in England, and of Clara's experiences in the lunatic asylum. Based on Antonia White's real experience, Clara completely loses touch with reality and thinks she is a salmon, a horse, and her father the devil. Completely fascinating and beautifully written. Fourth in the series of 4 autobiographical novels.

When Mrs. Bell's tyrannical, snooty cat Victoria dies, everyone urges her to adopt another cat as soon as possible. But Mrs. Bell feels that would be disrespectful to Victoria's memory. But tactful Mrs. Grey arranges it all so an unborn marmalade kitten is saved for her. Then, Mrs. Bell is offered a beautiful Siamese kitten she cannot resist. Unfortunately, Minka, the Siamese princess, can't bear the sight of Curdy, the roly-poly little bouncing ball of striped orange fur. She spits and swears and attacks the poor kitten and is freezingly angry at Mrs. Bell. Between her and Curdy, who is always getting himself in some sort of mischief, Mrs. Bell is ready to tear her hair out! This story combines humour, drama and every-day life into a charming account of two cats and the woman who is seduced by their charms. Any cat-lover will appreciate the lavish description of beautiful Minka and understand why and how Mrs. Bell and Minka hold their conversations and laugh at the funny bits that remind them of th

This book has some funny Jokes: Question: What kind of snake can you find on the front of your car? Answer: A Windshield Viper! Question: In what river are you sure to find snakes? Answer: The Hississippi! Question: What does a Boa Constrictor say when it's introduced to a chicken? Answer: Pleased to eat you! There are some funny jokes in this book!

The story of Gigi is a wonderful piece of work. It discards the old fashioned minds of the era and brings to light the truth. Colette brings her own life experience into this short story. Bringing into the story the way how to catch a man and how many is so important in some people lives and love dies away (but not exactly dies just hidden).

Gigi was really about a time, a place and a way of life that is no more--the Belle Epoque and the demimonde of Paris.

The "demimonde" or twilight or half-world, was the domain of paid courtesans, not prostitutes, but professional "artistes" who made their living as the paid companions of rich men. They often were dancers or actresses and didn't marry--"We never marry in our family" states Gigi's mother. The Belle Epoque ended with World War One and saw the revitalizaton of Paris by Hausmann and others, creating the city's magnificent architecture that we still love today.

Gigi is a young girl of 16. She falls in love with a rich gentlemen of 33, Gaston. But contrary to custom, she wants something quite different that her family has planned for her. This reflects the idealized dream that Colette had of love with a much older man. She herself pursued this dream disastrously by marrying the highly unsuitable Willy, and also assigned her alter-ego Claudine the same but happier dream in her Claudine novels.

Read this for the wonderful evocation of Paris in the gay 90's, and realize that it has little to do with the musical--this is about a way of life that has passed, along with horse drawn carriages, laced hourglass corsets, and women's hats the size of cartwheels.

I love the way Colette writes, her descriptions and words just take me back to that period of time, turn of the century Paris. She gives flavor to the book making us feel what the Parisian culture was like at that time. I totaly love Gigi. I've watched the movie first which is why I bought the book in the first place. I like the book because it describes more of the affair and courtesan stuff which the movie sugars up to give it a G rating. I just wish that Colette could've had Gigi go be Gaston's arm ornament at some party like Gigi did in the movie.

"The Lost Traveller" continues where "Frost in May " ended.However the name of the main character has been changed from Nanda Grey to Clara Batchelor.This book is about Clara's life throughout her teenage years.It is a wonderful and moving novel which deals with Clara's intense relationship with her parents and her life after she leaves her strict convent boarding school.It is set during world war one and is,in itself, a very tragic novel.I would reccomend reading it as part of the series rather than on it's own.The characters are so real that it's hard to beleive it's a fictional novel.I love this book and this series and it's really suitable for anyone.Read it.

The Lost Traveller is the second in the semi-autobiographical tetrology by Antonia White.

White was a contemporary of Woolfe and such Bloomsbury luminaries as Djuna Barnes. Yet she is relatively unknown to Americans. Thanks to Carmen Callil, who founded Virago Press and knew Antonia White, we can savor these classics which had been sadly in and out of print over the last years.

The Lost Traveller continues the story of Nanda, who is renamed Clara Bachelor in the second through fourth novels. We pick up her story as she finishes high school at St. Marks (really St. Paul's where White's domineering father Cecil Bottings was a classics master.)

Clara fears a career as a dried up female don at Oxford or Cambridge, though her talents in writing indicate she could follow her father's brilliant footsteps. In typically adolescent fashion, she gets a half-formed idea to go on stage after a stint at acting school. She has no real talent, but gets by on charm and good looks. She meets stage-struck, upper-crust and totally hopeless Archie and their fate becomes tangled together, despite her resistance to him and her crush on another actor, Stephen.

Clara moves aimlessly from acting to being a governess for an upper-class Catholic family. But tragedy strikes her there. While White also was a governess, this part of the novel is one of the few pure pieces of fiction she ever wrote. And it sets up the stage for "The Sugar House" and the return of Archie.

You should read "Frost in May" first, and fortunately, it is due to be reprinted soon. Don't miss these works of a minor master who sadly suffered from writer's block and left us all too little of her skillful work.

Claudine is in school and has good friends and boy friends that she often talks to and refers to in this book. She has as many problems as she does good events. She goes through her life as a journey and these four stories (claudine at school, claudine in Paris, and Annie and Claudine) she describes it in a college reading level but anyone who isn't is still able to understand it and get the gist.

This book drew me in immediately and promised a very interesting plot. However, towards the middle end, it slowed down and kept talking about the same ideas over and over. I got the point of oppression the first few examples. This would have been forgivable had it not been for such a weak plot. It is a slow and uncertain climax with a very disappointing resolution. The style of writing is very readable, yet not simplistic and boring. For this reason it deserves three stars, but the plot left a lot to be desired. It was rather obvious that this book was quasi-autobiographical. A good read if you don't expect much in the way of story resolution.

If you have not read "Frost in May" you are in for a real delight; this semi-autobiographical novel tells the story of young Fernanda (Nanda) who is sent to a convent boarding school in the years just before WWI. She is "unpicked and remade" in the mold of a well-bred, well-educated Catholic young lady. However, Nanda is never quite one of the group; her father is a convert to the faith and middle-class. Most of the students are daughters of old Catholic gentry and Nanda feels the subtle discrimintation.

Yet Nanda loves the hermetic routine, her companions and the age-old routine of the school. She begins to feel very at home, and excels her studies when she makes a terrible mistake.

The sensitive treatment of a young girl's feelings and attitudes, the recreation of the rarified atmosphere of a convent in pre-war England make this book a fine piece of literature. Antonia White wrote 3 more novels, all semi-biographical and then a few other short works. She was afflicted by writer's block and her output is slim, which is a shame. She was a tremendously talented writer, and every word is crafted perfectly.

Since I first read this book at the age of twelve, it has continued to both delight me and reduce me to tears each of the many times I have picked it up. It appeals to people of all ages and truly allows the reader to enter into the mind of Nanda. It is a must for anyone who can empathise with Nanda's oppression, to whatever degree, and I see no reason why anyone should fail to enjoy this beautifully structured, smoothly flowing 'calm amd factual record of the slow death of a soul', to use the words of Selina Hastings. It only disappoints me that this novel remains so little-known.

Yes the concept of the book, a Victorian novel of a young girl married to a much older man, an unscrupulous publisher no less, led me to dish out the big bucks and buy this book ....

If they said this book was steamy, it certainly was, but, the steam came from me in having to read this mush. I think they should have announced this book as ANTI VICTORIAN literature since sensuality is hinted at but never touched. Thats why I rate this book with one star since you can't have serious relationships and marriage between people that are decades appart in age without some sort of spice. The fact that the man in the book is a scumbucket is even more reason to delvelop this as a reality...

Well yes theres the word .. reality .. which is what this book does not have.

"Experiences of a young girl growing to maturity" is what the covers says ... what it should say is that this is so boring and meant for readers that think watching grass grow is exciting!

I would give this 2.5 stars, were this an option.

First, I should say that this book was an incredibly breezy read; in spite of its over 500 pages, I read it in three days. It's brainless, easy, and more of a "beach read" than a classic.

Admittedly, I am not a fan of "beach reads."

Frankly, I don't understand how this book came to be a classic. I can only figure that Colette's later books, combined with her acting career and essays, made her a classic historical figure, which, in turn, made this book a "classic." On its own, the book is a silly lark. The characters and situations are completely unrealistic, their relationships seem forced, and the hand of Colette's husband, who pushed her to write these books and published them under his name, is painfully evident. Scenes of homosexuality are strained and feel slotted in to drive up the "raciness" of the text, and therefore it's saleability.

I'm glad I read this, if only to know more about the author and to say that I know her work. Would I recommend it? No. Was it a painful read? No. It just wasn't of classic or even literary caliber.

For novels a century old, the first thing that will take the reader by surprise is just how modern the narrator's voice is. Yes, the setting is in stuffy late Victoriana, with trips to Bayreuth and carriages and endless dinner parties, but sweet Claudine, who tells three of the four tales in this compliation, is aware, hilarious, darling and fiercely, fiercely intelligent.

The first novel is perhaps the best -- Claudine a l'ecole -- while the latter ones occasionally lag, esp. the rather dull "Claudine en menage." "Claudine s'en va" (Claudine and Annie) is a strange experiment, with the narrator we've grown to love over three novels suddenly turned into supporting character, but it's quick and entertaining.

And these books are wonderfully decadent. Let the conservatives wail about how debased our times have become, and then read these products of 1900-1903, with their frank journeys into lesbian sex, adultery, drug use -- and view the rather jaundiced way the characters approach such sacred cows as religion and marriage.

Also, this compliation is not complete, as it is missing "La retraite sentimentale", the final Claudine installment.

Collette would get even better, but this is a fine starting point.