Author:Colette
THE STORIES THAT INSPIRED THE FILM COLETTE, out Jan 2019.
The third book in Colette's enchanting Claudine series.
Following the excitement of a shared life in Paris, Claudine's marriage to Renaud has settled into a stale pattern of bickering conversations and mutual inattention. Just as Claudine begins to fear herself confined to a stifled existence, a chance meeting with a friend's wife, the beautiful Rezi, draws her into an impassioned and heartbreaking affair.
In Claudine Married Claudine pits her uniquely sensuous spirit against the challenges of married life and the conflicts of forbidden love in one of Colette's most moving and powerful novels.
Her prose is rich, flawless, intricate, audacious and utterly beautiful
—— Raymond Mortimer, VogueThis most French of all French writers . . . 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
—— New York TimesShe has been compared to a 20th-century female Montaigne, and it is true that her books offer a manual on how to live fearlessly and joyfully – greedily alive to every sensation and experience
—— GuardianHer sensual prose style made her one of the great writers of twentieth-century France
—— New York Times Book ReviewA perfectionist in her every word
—— SpectatorEverything that Colette touched became human
—— The TimesAccessible and elusive; greedy and austere; courageous and timid; subversive and complacent; scorchingly honest and sublimely mendacious; an inspired consoler and an existential pessimist—these are the qualities of the artist and the woman. It is time to rediscover them
—— Judith Thurman, biographer of ColetteMisogynistic violence, ancient myth and modern rage confront each other in moving and dynamic verse.
—— Maria Crawford , Financial Times, *Books of the Year*Benson is one of the finest English poets writing today.
—— Week[Benson] is bravely and unfashionably, a high Romantic.
—— Tristram Fane Saunders , Daily TelegraphA fizzy new homage... Schott burnishes the gleam.
—— New York TimesGlorious . . . undeniably an impressive, hugely enjoyable feat of ventriloquism.
—— Christmas Books , Country Life MagazineIt is hard not to warm to this hugely entertaining homage.
—— Mail on SundayThe cast is a delight, with many characters who will be familiar to Wodehouse aficionados . . . his prose is elegant and charming and he captures the lilt and rhythms of the original . . . a warm, worthy and rollicking tribute.
—— Literary ReviewThis joyous and thoughtful tribute leaves you wanting more.
—— Sophie Ratcliffe , TLSBy Jove! It's a ripping old yarn... Dashed agreeably close to the master.
—— Daily MailA hugely enjoyable caper
—— The WeekThere are laughs and admirable ingenuity in Schott’s confection
—— Irish TimesA book that is so close in spirit and style to the PG Wodehouse originals it’s like the real thing
—— The SportTop-notch fun.
—— S magazineSucceeds triumphantly, both as light entertainment and as a tribute to the master
—— Country & Town HouseIn his first foray into PG Wodehouse homage/imitation/pastiche (whichever it may be) Schott appeared to hit the Wodehouse target dead on.
—— RTEJonathan Coe's Middle England is brilliantly insightful on the times we are living in
—— Mishal Husain, Books of the Year , Big IssueLet me add to the chorus of praise for Jonathan Coe's new book Middle England. Easily my favourite of his since What a Carve Up! Which did for Thatcherism what Middle England does for Brexit
—— John CraceAn astute, enlightened and enlightening journey into the heart of our current national identity crisis. Both moving and funny. As we'd expect from Coe
—— Ben EltonFrom post-industrial Birmingham to the London riots and the current political gridlock, it takes in family, literature and love in a comedy for our times
—— GuardianCoe can make you smile, sigh, laugh; he has abundant sympathy for his characters
—— ScotsmanThis book is sublimely good. State of the (Brexit) nation novel to end them all, but also funny, tender, generous, so human and intelligent about age and love as well as politics
—— India KnightProbably the best English novelist of his generation
—— Nick HornbyNo modern novelist is better at charting the precariousness of middle-class life
—— ObserverAn angry and exuberant book
—— Sunday Times on 'Number 11'Jonathan Coe has established himself as one of the most entertaining chroniclers of our times
—— TatlerYou can't stop reading....I was haunted for days
—— Independent on 'Number 11'