The Collected Stories of Colette (Paperback)

by Colette (Author), Robert G. Phelps (Editor), Antonia White (Translator), Matthew Ward (Translator), Anne-Marie Callimachi (Translator)

Editorial Reviews

Review
"Colette is a kind of corsetiere of love. This most French of all French writers tells us how love sometimes binds and keeps a woman from breathing freely or how it may shape and support her and help her to be beautiful . . . One thinks of her as the female voice of Paris . . . It's as if all the house fronts of Paris were cut away and we could see men and women talking, dressing, brooding, loving."--Anatole Broyard, The New York Times

"This large collection of her stories allows us to share her exhilaration and to sample the pleasure of her prose . . . no other woman seems to have had as much lived experience to draw upon or as much sexual sophistication . . . The voice of worldly feminine wisdom runs through her stories."--Phyllis Rose, The New York Times Book Review

"Like a table spread with the fruit and wine she celebrated in her books: 'Late-ripening cherries, rosy peaches, thin-skinned Marseilles figs, misty hot-house grapes and champagne shuddering in carafes of heavy crystal.' A sumptuous display."--Patricia Blake, Time
-- Review

Review

"Colette is a kind of corsetiere of love. This most French of all French writers tells us how love sometimes binds and keeps a woman from breathing freely or how it may shape and support her and help her to be beautiful . . . One thinks of her as the female voice of Paris . . . It's as if all the house fronts of Paris were cut away and we could see men and women talking, dressing, brooding, loving."--Anatole Broyard, The New York Times

"This large collection of her stories allows us to share her exhilaration and to sample the pleasure of her prose . . . no other woman seems to have had as much lived experience to draw upon or as much sexual sophistication . . . The voice of worldly feminine wisdom runs through her stories."--Phyllis Rose, The New York Times Book Review

"Like a table spread with the fruit and wine she celebrated in her books: 'Late-ripening cherries, rosy peaches, thin-skinned Marseilles figs, misty hot-house grapes and champagne shuddering in carafes of heavy crystal.' A sumptuous display."--Patricia Blake, Time

See all Editorial Reviews

---

Product Details Paperback: 605 pages Publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux (September 1, 1984) Language: English ISBN-10: 0374518653 ISBN-13: 978-0374518653 Product Dimensions: 9 x 6 x 1.6 inches Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds (View shipping rates and policies) Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (6 customer reviews) Amazon.com Sales Rank: #71,521 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books) Popular in this category: (What's this?) #5 in  Books > Literature & Fiction > Authors, A-Z > ( C ) > Colette

---

Citations (learn more)

11 books cite this book:

• Thematic Guide to Popular Short Stories: by Patrick A. Smith on page 74, and Back Matter
• For Health and Beauty: Physical Culture for Frenchwomen, 1880s--1930s by Mary Lynn Stewart on page 243
• Paris Out of Hand: A Wayward Guide by Karen Elizabeth Gordon in Back Matter
• The Book Club Companion: A Comprehensive Guide to the Reading Group Experience by Diana Loevy on page 200
• Secrets of the Flesh: A Life of Colette (Ballantine Reader's Circle) by Judith Thurman in Back Matter

See all 11 books citing this book

---

What Do Customers Ultimately Buy After Viewing This Item?

	55% buy the item featured on this page: The Collected Stories of Colette 5.0 out of 5 stars (6) $21.56
	21% buy Cheri and The Last of Cheri [movie tie-in edition] 4.1 out of 5 stars (14) $10.20
	10% buy The Complete Claudine: Claudine at School; Claudine in Paris; Claudine Married; Claudine and Annie 4.0 out of 5 stars (5) $13.60
	9% buy Gigi, Julie de Carneilha, and Chance Acquaintances: Three Short Novels 4.5 out of 5 stars (2) $10.88

Explore similar items

---

Tags Customers Associate with This Product  (What's this?) Click on a tag to find related items, discussions, and people. Check the boxes next to the tags you consider relevant or enter your own tags in the field below. french literature(5) france(2) french lit(2) 20th century european fiction(1) anthology(1) colette(1) girls(1) literature(1) maybe books(1) Your tags: Add your first tag

Search Products Tagged with   See most popular tags

Help others find this product — tag it for Amazon search

No one has tagged this product for Amazon search yet. Why not be the first to suggest a search for which it should appear?

---

Sell a Digital Version of This Book in the Kindle Store

If you are a publisher or author and hold the digital rights to a book, you can sell a digital version of it in our Kindle Store. Learn more

---

 

Customer Reviews

6 Reviews 5 star:  (6) 4 star:    (0) 3 star:    (0) 2 star:    (0) 1 star:    (0)           Average Customer Review 5.0 out of 5 stars (6 customer reviews)		Share your thoughts with other customers:
Most Helpful Customer Reviews 27 of 28 people found the following review helpful: 5.0 out of 5 stars If you love Colette, these are absolute gems, May 1, 2001 By  Joanna Daneman (Middletown, DE USA) - See all my reviews (TOP 10 REVIEWER)    (COMMUNITY FORUM 04)       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. ) 23 of 24 people found the following review helpful: 5.0 out of 5 stars A full life, May 27, 2003 By  Diane Schirf "www.slywy.com" - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)    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. 1 of 1 people found the following review helpful: 5.0 out of 5 stars Amazing Writer, May 27, 2008 By  christine "christine" (portland) - See all my reviews God, I love these short stories. These are a must, must read for anyone interested in France during this time period, and someone interested in the nuances of human relationships. Colette was given as a gift to me some 20 years ago, and I have reread these stories so many times, the book is falling apart.		Ad feedback   Most Recent Customer Reviews 5.0 out of 5 stars superb Her short stories are superb! Much much better than any of her novels. If you like short stories, try reading John O'hara (A completely different vein, but excellent also). Published on August 11, 2003 5.0 out of 5 stars Perfect Intro to a forgotten female author's best work 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. Published on July 14, 1999 5.0 out of 5 stars Perfect Intro to a forgotten female author's best work 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. Published on July 13, 1999 Search Customer Reviews Only search this product's reviews

---

Customer Discussions

 Beta (What's this?)

New! See all customer communities, and bookmark your communities to keep track of them.

This product's forum (1 discussion)   Discussion Replies Latest Post enfant et les sortileges 0 January 2007 › See all discussions...   [Start the discussion] Start a new discussion Topic: First post: Receive e-mail when new posts are made Prompts for sign-in   [Cancel] Guidelines Active discussions in related forums   Discussion Replies Latest Post literary fiction Favorite first line opening in a book.... 43 4 hours ago literary fiction Have You Written Literary Fiction - Come Tell Us About It. 591 1 day ago literature books please 43 2 days ago literature Promote Your Work!!! 58 2 days ago literature Name three of your all time favorite books. 51 2 days ago literature Modern Epic Poems 4 6 days ago literary fiction '2009 Bronze Book Award - Best Regional Fiction' 2 7 days ago literary fiction wallace stegner 4 7 days ago

The French Literature community Latest activity 4 hours ago 897 customers have contributed 6,602 products, 89 lists & guides and more... › Explore the community The France community Latest activity 28 minutes ago 5,208 customers have contributed 13,111 products, 378 lists & guides and more... › Explore the community The Literature community Latest activity 4 hours ago 5,810 customers have contributed 6,575 products, 1,104 lists & guides and more... › Explore the community Related forums colette france (16 discussions) french lit french... (4 discussions) literary... (32 discussions) literature (38 discussions) Explore more › See all Customer Communities › Your communities

---

Product Information from the Amapedia Community

Beta (What's this?)

Be the first person to add an article about this item at Amapedia.com.

› See featured Amapedia.com articles

---

Listmania!

Franco-American Books: A list by Charleen Touchette "Author of IT STOPS WITH ME"   κλείω, muse of history ii.: A list by Andrew W. Clark   Blow Your Mind and Put It Back Together: A list by Jeremy Garber "urbanmenno" Create a Listmania! list

Search Listmania!

---

So You'd Like to...

Read the best of French Literature, prt 1: A guide by Blazes Boylan   Read Black Lesbian & Gay Biographies: A guide by Jeffery Mingo   Read Some Great Books: A guide by Tina Create a guide

Search Guides

---

Look for Similar Items by Category

• Books > Literature & Fiction > Authors, A-Z > ( C ) > Colette
• Books > Literature & Fiction > Literary
• Books > Literature & Fiction > Short Stories > Anthologies

---

Up to 50% Off Chocolates Save up to 50% on gourmet chocolates from Ghirardelli, Godiva, Leonidas Belgian Chocolates, and more from Amazon Gourmet.

Best Books of 2008 Find our top 100 editors' picks as well as customers' favorites in dozens of categories in our Best Books of 2008 Store.

Buy Three Books, Get a Fourth Free Order any four eligible books under $10 and get the lowest-price book free in our 4-for-3 Books Store. See more details.

Hammer It Out Keep your toolbox stocked with a hammer or two for driving fasteners, for prying, and for demolition. ›Shop all hammers

Ad feedback

 

Feedback If you need help or have a question for Customer Service, contact us.  Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images? Is there any other feedback you would like to provide? Your comments can help make our site better for everyone. Please note that we are unable to respond directly to all feedback submitted via this form, but we'll ask you to sign in so we can contact you if needed.

Where's My Stuff? Track your recent orders. View or change your orders in Your Account. Shipping & Returns See our shipping rates & policies. See FREE shipping information. Return an item (here's our Returns Policy). Need Help? Forgot your password? Buy gift cards. Visit our Help department.

Your Recent History

  (What's this?)

You have no recently viewed items or searches. After viewing product detail pages or search results, look here to find an easy way to navigate back to pages you are interested in. Look to the right column to find helpful suggestions for your shopping session.	Continue shopping: Top Sellers Free by Chris Anderson 3.5 out of 5 stars (13)$0.00 Paranoia by Joseph Finder 4.1 out of 5 stars (200)$0.00 My Soul to Lose by Rachel Vincent 4.2 out of 5 stars (4)$0.00 Glenn Beck's Common Sense by Glenn Beck 3.8 out of 5 stars (282)$6.59

Amazon.com Home  |   Directory of All Stores

International Sites:  Canada  |  United Kingdom  |  Germany  |  Japan  |  France  |  China

Business Programs: Sell on Amazon  |  Build an eCommerce Site  |  Advertise With Us  |  Developer Services  |  Self-Publish with Us

Help  |  View Cart  |  Your Account  |  1-Click Settings

Investor Relations  |  Press Releases  |  Careers at Amazon  |  Join Associates  |  Join Advantage

Conditions of Use | Privacy Notice © 1996-2009, Amazon.com, Inc. or its affiliates

Product Details

• Paperback: 605 pages
• Publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux (September 1, 1984)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0374518653
• ISBN-13: 978-0374518653
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6 x 1.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #71,521 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

  Popular in this category: (What's this?)

  #5 in

  Books > Literature & Fiction > Authors, A-Z > ( C ) > Colette

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

27 of 28 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars If you love Colette, these are absolute gems, May 1, 2001

By	Joanna Daneman (Middletown, DE USA) - See all my reviews (TOP 10 REVIEWER)    (COMMUNITY FORUM 04)

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. )

23 of 24 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A full life, May 27, 2003

By	Diane Schirf "www.slywy.com" - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

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.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Amazing Writer, May 27, 2008

By	christine "christine" (portland) - See all my reviews

God, I love these short stories. These are a must, must read for anyone interested in France during this time period, and someone interested in the nuances of human relationships. Colette was given as a gift to me some 20 years ago, and I have reread these stories so many times, the book is falling apart.