The Vagabond

One of three works now available from Penguin Classics U.S., a new translation of Colette’s subversive and witty tale of a dancer in belle epoque France

A Penguin Classic

Renée, 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, Renée 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.