|
|
La Vagabonde Audio Book
|
La Vagabonde
Author:
Colette, translated by Charlotte Remfry Kidd
Reader: Johanna Ward
Once upon a time, a woman had to choose between love and independence. Renée Néré, in her 30s, is an aging dancer, mime, and failed writer. Evoking the excitement of the Parisian dance-hall, Renée describes her romance with her admirer, Maxime, and the downward slide of a young singer.
» Read More
|
Available Audio Book Editions:
| F5B118 |
UNABRIDGED |
Audio Cassettes ( 5 ) |
|
|
| Price: |
$39.95 |
Special Price:
You save: |
$35.95
$4.00 (10%) |
|
|
Publish Date: 04/06/2004
ISBN: 9780786111183
|
|
You may also like audio books with the same:
Synopsis:
|
A novel of the Parisian theatre by the celebrated French writer. Renee is a music hall dancer who, wounded by an unhappy marriage, leaves her husband and vows never to make the same mistake again. Resolutely independent, she nevertheless falls in love with another actor. Can she succeed where once she failed before? A vivid and enchanting story, told with great insight and sensitivity.
|
Author Bio:
|
Born in a rural village in Burgundy, Sidonie-Gabrielle Colette was the daughter of a tax-collector father and an earthy mother (the famous Sido) whose great joys were the sensual ones of food, animals, and the garden--passions that Colette, her mother's last child, inherited. Sido was also a somewhat overpowering presence, and was no doubt part of the reason that Colette left home at the age of 20 to marry a man 15 years her senior, the writer and music critic known as "Monsieur Willy." Willy encouraged Colette to become a writer, but insisted that she publish under his name and, according to legend, locked her in her room until she had produced enough pages to satisfy him. These early novels, the "Claudine" series, were wildly popular and inspired a line of Claudine clothing, chocolates, cigarettes, and toiletries. Colette's life with Willy, however, was difficult: not only did he stifle her own personality, but he was unfaithful as well. She left him in 1905 and became a music-hall artist, scandalizing (and delighting) the public with her risqué performances (and once causing a riot at the Moulin Rouge). She also began a series of lesbian relationships, most famously with Napoleon's niece, the Marquise de Belboeuf (known as "Missy"). In 1912, however, at the age of 39, Colette was married again, to the editor of the newspaper Le Matin, and began to write theatre reviews and short stories. Her only child was born during this period, a daughter named Colette. the girl was sorely neglected by her mother, who had never wanted a child of her own. Colette was much friendlier with her stepson, with whom--when she was 49 and he 16--she began the affair she was to chronicle later in her celebrated novels CHERI and THE LAST OF CHERI. During World War I, Colette allowed her home to be used as a hospital, and was made a Chevalier of the Legion of Honour in 1920. Her second marriage also failed, and Colette, living in Paris, began to write the books that made her famous, among them her evocative musings about food, flowers, and cats, and the idealized memoirs that looked back at her rural childhood. During World War II, her third and last husband, a Jewish merchant 17 years younger than she, was interned by the Gestapo and in danger of deportation; thanks to the efforts of Colette--by then a very famous writer--he was spared; Colette, however, never hesitated to publish her work in anti-Semitic journals and was friendly with several officers of the Vichy regime. Perhaps her most well-known novel was GIGI, published when she was 72 and made into a Lerner-Loewe musical. During her last 20 years, Colette was severely crippled with arthritis, and when she died, at 81, she was honored with a state funeral, attended by more than 6000 grieving fans. During her long career, she wrote nearly 80 books--fiction, memoirs, essays, drama--and remains a beloved and inspiring figure who celebrated life's simple pleasures, lived by her own rules, and flaunted her extravagant lack of concern for conventional morality.
|
Related Subjects to Browse
Copyright 1995-2009 Muze Inc.  For personal non-commercial use only. All rights reserved. Some content for books is owned by Baker & Taylor, Inc. or its licensors and is subject to copyright and all other protections provided by applicable law.
|
|
 |
Your Cart is empty. |
 |
Saved Cart is empty. |
 |
Wish List is empty. |
Security All personal information you submit is encrypted and secure.
Guarantee You may return any purchase for a complete refund within 15 days of receipt.
Learn more »
Become an Audio Book Discount Plan member today for great discounts, reduced
shipping, and a free audiobook!
Get a Free Audio Book
|
