The ''Claudine'' series consists of four early novels by French authors

Colette Sidonie-Gabrielle Colette (; 28 January 1873 – 3 August 1954), known mononymously as Colette, was a French author and woman of letters. She was also a mime, actress, and journalist. Colette is best known in the English-speaking world for her ...

and

Henry Gauthier-Villars Henry Gauthier-Villars (8 August 1859 – 12 January 1931), known by the pen name Willy , was a French ''fin de siècle'' writer and music critic who is today mostly known as the mentor and first husband of Colette. Other pseudonyms used by Gauth ...

, published 1900–1904. Written in diary form, they describe the growth to maturity of a young girl, Claudine. Aged fifteen at the beginning of the first book, ''

Claudine à l'école ''Claudine at School'' (french: Claudine à l'école) is a 1900 novel by the French writer Colette. The narrative recounts the final year of secondary school of 15-year-old Claudine, her brazen confrontations with her headmistress, Mlle Sergent, a ...

'', the series describes her education and experiences as she grows up. All the books are written in first-person with the first three having Claudine herself as the narrator. The last in the series, ''Claudine s'en va'', introduces a new narrator, Annie. The novels were written in the late 19th century in collaboration with Colette's first husband, the writer

, better known by his

pen name A pen name, also called a ''nom de plume'' or a literary double, is a pseudonym (or, in some cases, a variant form of a real name) adopted by an author and printed on the title page or by-line of their works in place of their real name. A pen na ...

"Willy". There has been much speculation over the degree of involvement of both Colette and Willy in the writing of the Claudine novels, particularly as Willy was known for often using

ghostwriter A ghostwriter is hired to write literary or journalistic works, speeches, or other texts that are officially credited to another person as the author. Celebrities, executives, participants in timely news stories, and political leaders often h ...

s. Consequently, although the novels were originally attributed to Willy only and published under his name alone, they were later published under both names. After the death of Willy, Colette went to court to challenge her former husband's involvement in any of the writing, and subsequently had his name removed from the books. This decision however was overturned after her death, as Willy's son from a prior relationship,

Jacques Gauthier-Villars Ancient and noble French family names, Jacques, Jacq, or James are believed to originate from the Middle Ages in the historic northwest Brittany region in France, and have since spread around the world over the centuries. To date, there are over ...

, successfully sued to have his father's name restored. The ''Claudine'' novels are thought to be roughly

autobiographical An autobiography, sometimes informally called an autobio, is a self-written account of one's own life. It is a form of biography. Definition The word "autobiography" was first used deprecatingly by William Taylor in 1797 in the English peri ...

. * ''

'' (1900) – Claudine at School * ''Claudine à Paris'' (1901) – Claudine in Paris * ''Claudine en ménage'' (1902) – Claudine Married * ''Claudine s'en va'' (1903) – Claudine and Annie

References

Collaborative book series Bisexuality-related fiction Series of books Colette 1900s novels 1900s LGBT novels {{1900s-LGBT-novel-stub