Minne Les Égarements de Minne

Minne and Le Mariage de Minne (the original title before it became Les Égarements de Minne) were written by Colette in collaboration with Willy, whose name alone appears on the covers of the volumes: Colette was then working anonymously for her husband’s “workshop.” These Minne novels followed the successful Claudine cycle, Colette and Willy’s first four novels, but occupy a notable place in Colette’s œuvre: for the first time, the action takes place in a small town and in the countryside, in a milieu very different from the one Colette had drawn on until then in her Claudine novels.

Colette later separated from her husband and began signing her works with her first name alone. She reclaimed the two Minne novels and reworked them, eventually merging them into a single narrative titled L’Ingénue libertine (1909). Certain passages were removed, notably those attributed to Willy; the recent discovery of the manuscripts (Jean Patou collection, sale, 2015, no. 334), entirely written in Colette’s hand, with deletions and corrections, now leaves no doubt as to Colette’s full legitimacy in claiming complete ownership of these two works.

A rare pairing of two early works fully attributable to Colette.
Spines skillfully restored; otherwise fine copies, with wide margins.