The Vagabond

Colette's subversive and witty tale of a dancer in Belle poque France, in a fresh new Penguin Classics translation

Renee, aged thirty-three and divorced from her serially unfaithful husband, reinvents herself as a dancer in France's music halls. When a wealthy suitor appears promising marriage and stability, Renee must choose between the security he represents and her hard-won life as an artist.

Colette's great 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 quest for freedom.