Vagabond

Colette's subversive and witty tale of a woman's bid for freedom in Belle poque France, in a fresh new Penguin Classics translation It s definitely me there, covered in purple rouge, eyes ringed with a halo of blue greasepaint that s beginning to melt Ren e, aged thirty-three and divorced from her serially unfaithful husband, reinvents herself as a dancer and mime artist in France s music halls. When a wealthy suitor appears promising marriage and stability, Ren e must choose between the security he represents and her hard-won life as an artist. Colette s subversive novel of the stage was based on her experiences as a struggling music hall performer following her own divorce. By turns melancholy and funny, it is a pioneering work of autofiction and a vivid portrayal of one woman s pursuit of freedom. The story of a soul s quest for liberation Erica JongTranslated with an Introduction by Belinda Jack