Colette
A writer who lived as boldly as she wrote, breaking literary and social conventions to chart the inner life of a modern woman.
1873–1954 (age 81)·French novelist·Birthday: January 28·The Gilded Age
Biography
Colette began her career in the shadows, ghostwriting the titillating 'Claudine' novels for her first husband, who took the credit. Shedding that identity—and the husband—she launched herself into a life of scandalous performance and luminous prose. On stage, she kissed a woman and bared a breast; on the page, she explored sensuality, nature, and the complexities of female autonomy with an uncanny precision. From the provincial childhood she immortalized in her mother, Sido, to the glittering Parisian salons, Colette absorbed the world through her senses. Her work, culminating in masterpieces like 'Chéri' and 'Gigi,' refused moral judgment in favor of acute observation, securing her a place as France's foremost literary chronicler of desire and self-invention.
The Gilded Age
1860–1882
Born during or after the Civil War, they built industrial America — the railroads, the steel mills, the first skyscrapers. An era of massive wealth, massive inequality, and the belief that the future belonged to whoever could build it fastest.
Colette was born in 1873, placing them squarely in The Gilded Age. The events that shaped this generation — world wars, depression, and rapid industrialization — shaped the world they entered and the choices available to them.
#1 When Colette Was Born
The biggest hits of 1873
Colette's Life & Times
The world at every milestone
1873Born
President: Ulysses S. Grant
1878Started school
President: Rutherford B. Hayes
1886Became a teenager
Statue of Liberty dedicated in New York Harbor
President: Grover Cleveland
1889Could drive
Eiffel Tower opens in Paris
President: Benjamin Harrison
1891Could vote
President: Benjamin Harrison
1894Turned 21
President: Grover Cleveland
1903Turned 30
Wright brothers achieve first powered flight
President: Theodore Roosevelt
1913Turned 40
The Federal Reserve is established
President: Woodrow Wilson
1923Turned 50
The Great Kanto earthquake devastates Tokyo
President: Calvin Coolidge"Yes! We Have No Bananas" — Billy Jones
1933Turned 60
FDR's New Deal launches; Prohibition ends
Gas: $0.18/galPresident: Franklin D. Roosevelt"Stormy Weather" — Ethel WatersBest Picture: Cavalcade
1943Turned 70
Allies invade Sicily; Battle of Stalingrad ends
Gas: $0.21/galHome: $3,290Min wage: $0.30/hrPresident: Franklin D. Roosevelt"I've Heard That Song Before" — Harry JamesBest Picture: Casablanca
1953Turned 80
DNA structure discovered by Watson and Crick
Gas: $0.27/galHome: $8,750Min wage: $0.75/hrPresident: Dwight D. Eisenhower"Song from Moulin Rouge" — Percy FaithBest Picture: From Here to Eternity
1954Died at 81
Brown v. Board of Education desegregates US schools
Gas: $0.29/galHome: $8,925Min wage: $0.75/hrPresident: Dwight D. Eisenhower"Little Things Mean a Lot" — Kitty KallenBest Picture: On the Waterfront
Key Achievements
- Became the first woman to be granted a state funeral by the French Republic, honoring her immense cultural impact.
- Served as president of the prestigious Académie Goncourt, a first for a woman in that institution.
- Wrote the novella 'Gigi,' which was adapted into an Oscar-winning film, bringing her international fame.
- Her series of 'Claudine' novels, though initially published under her husband's name, became a sensational literary phenomenon.
Did You Know?
She was a music hall mime and dancer, and once performed a sketch at the Moulin Rouge that caused a minor riot.
Colette was married three times and had relationships with both men and women, including the Mathilde de Morny, known as 'Missy.'
She wrote many of her later novels from her bed, due to chronic arthritis.
Her name, Colette, is a registered trademark owned by her estate.
“You will do foolish things, but do them with enthusiasm.”
