{"id":27629,"date":"2023-03-03T18:27:01","date_gmt":"2023-03-03T18:27:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.comicsreview.co.uk\/nowreadthis\/?p=27629"},"modified":"2023-03-03T18:27:01","modified_gmt":"2023-03-03T18:27:01","slug":"the-provocative-collette","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.comicsreview.co.uk\/nowreadthis\/2023\/03\/03\/the-provocative-collette\/","title":{"rendered":"The Provocative Collette"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"
\nBy Annie Goetzinger<\/strong>, translated by Montana Kane<\/strong> (NBM)
\nISBN: 978-1-68112-170-3 (HB)<\/p>\n

Publisher NBM struck pure gold with their line of European-created contemporary arts histories and dramatized graphic biographies. This one is one of the very best but is tragically still only available in physical form. Hopefully that oversight will be addressed soon as it is a most enticing treat: diligently tracing the astoundingly unconventional early life of one of the most remarkable women of modern times.<\/p>\n

Sidonie-Gabrielle Colette (January 28th<\/sup> 1873 – August 3rd<\/sup> 1954) escaped rural isolation and stagnation via an ill-considered marriage but, by sheer force of will and an astonishing gift for self-expression, rose to the first rank of French-language (and global) literature through her many novels and stories. The one you probably know best is Gigi<\/strong>, but you should really read a few more such as La Vagabonde<\/strong> or perhaps The Ripening Seed<\/strong>\u2026<\/p>\n

For her efforts she was elected to the Belgian Royal Academy in 1935 and France\u2019s Acad\u00e9mie Goncourt a decade later. She became its President in 1949, the year after she was nominated for a Nobel Prize. Her grateful country also celebrated her as Chevalier (1920) and Grand Officer (1953) of the L\u00e9gion d\u2019honneur<\/em>.<\/p>\n

Colette\u2019s relentless search for truths in the arena of human relationships – particularly in regard to women\u2019s independence in a hostile and patronising patriarchal society – also led her to pursue freedom of expression through dance, drama, acting & mime, in film and as a journalist.<\/p>\n

The fact that – for most of her early life – men controlled her money also prompted her far-reaching career path until she finally managed to win control of her own destiny and coffers\u2026<\/p>\n

Our drama unfolds in 1893 as 20-year-old Sidonie-Gabrielle readies herself for her wedding to prestigious and much older music journalist Henry Gauthier-Villars<\/em>. The great man is celebrated nationally under his nom de plume \u201cWilly\u201d.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s also the name under which he will publish his wife\u2019s first four, hugely successful Claudine<\/strong> novels whilst pocketing all the profits and attendant copyrights\u2026<\/p>\n

Eventually breaking free to live a life both sexually adventurous and utterly on her own terms, Colette never abandoned her trust in love or reliance on a fiercely independent spirit. And she shared what she believed about the cause of female liberty with the world through her books and her actions\u2026<\/p>\n

This bold, life-affirming chronicle was meticulously crafted by the superb and much-missed Annie Goetzinger (18th<\/sup> August1951 – 20th<\/sup> December 2017). Tragically it was her last in a truly stellar career. The award-winning cartoonist, designer and graphic novelist (The Girl in Dior<\/strong>, <\/strong>The Hardy Agency<\/strong>, <\/strong>F\u00e9lina<\/em><\/strong>, <\/strong>Aurore<\/em><\/strong>, <\/strong>Marie Antoinette: Phantom Queen<\/strong>, <\/strong>Portraits souvenirs<\/em><\/strong> series) supplied here sumptuous illustration perfectly capturing the complexities and paradoxes of the Belle Epoque and the wars and social turmoil that followed. Her breezy, seductively alluring script brings to vivid life a wide variety of characters who could so easily be reduced to mere villains and martinets, but instead resonate as simply people with their own lives, desires and agendas\u2026<\/p>\n

The scandalous escapades are preceded by an adroit and incisive Preface<\/em> from journalist and author Nathalie Crom: and bookended with informative extras such as \u2018Literary References\u2019<\/em>, and full \u2018Chronology\u2019 <\/em>of the author\u2019s life, plus potted biographies of \u2018Colette\u2019s Entourage\u2019<\/em>: <\/em>offering context and background on friends, family and the many notables inevitably gathered around her.<\/p>\n

Additional material includes a suggested Further Reading<\/em> and a Select Bibliography<\/em>.<\/p>\n

A minor masterpiece honouring a major force in the history and culture of our complex world, this book should be at the top of the reading list for anyone who\u2019s thought \u201cthat\u2019s not fair\u201d and \u201cwhy do I<\/em> have to?\u201d<\/p>\n

The Provocative Colette<\/strong> is a forthright and beguiling exploration of humanity and one you should secure by any means necessary.
\n\u00a9 DARGAUD 2017 by Goetzinger. All rights reserved. \u00a9 2018 NBM for the English translation.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Annie Goetzinger, translated by Montana Kane (NBM) ISBN: 978-1-68112-170-3 (HB) Publisher NBM struck pure gold with their line of European-created contemporary arts histories and dramatized graphic biographies. This one is one of the very best but is tragically still only available in physical form. Hopefully that oversight will be addressed soon as it is … <\/p>\n

Continue reading “The Provocative Collette”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[81,115,239,63,299,122,132],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-27629","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-art-books","category-biography","category-drama","category-european-classics","category-feminism-sexual-politics","category-historical","category-older-kids"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p4AFj-7bD","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.comicsreview.co.uk\/nowreadthis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/27629","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.comicsreview.co.uk\/nowreadthis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.comicsreview.co.uk\/nowreadthis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.comicsreview.co.uk\/nowreadthis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.comicsreview.co.uk\/nowreadthis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=27629"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.comicsreview.co.uk\/nowreadthis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/27629\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":27632,"href":"https:\/\/www.comicsreview.co.uk\/nowreadthis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/27629\/revisions\/27632"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.comicsreview.co.uk\/nowreadthis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=27629"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.comicsreview.co.uk\/nowreadthis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=27629"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.comicsreview.co.uk\/nowreadthis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=27629"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}