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

Colette Sidonie-Gabrielle Colette (; 28 January 1873 – 3 August 1954), known as Colette or Colette Willy, was a French author and woman of letters. She was also a Mime artist, mime, actress, and journalist. Colette is best known in the English-speaki ...

and Henry Gauthier-Villars, 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'', 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 Henry Gauthier-Villars, better known by his

pen name A pen name or nom-de-plume 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 name may be used to make the author's 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 a person hired to write literary or journalistic works, speeches, or other texts that are 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, 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, providing a personal narrative that reflects on the author's experiences, memories, and insights. This genre allows individuals to share thei ...

List of books

* '' Claudine à l'école'' (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 Bisexual fiction Book series Colette 1900s novels 1900s LGBTQ novels {{1900s-LGBT-novel-stub