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Share CLAUDINE AT SCHOOL by Colette (Vintage £9.99, 240pp)

CLAUDINE AT SCHOOL

by Colette (Vintage £9.99, 240pp)  

‘My name is Claudine. . .' so begins this famous, fictional schoolgirl's diary that became a cult series, took Paris by storm in the 1900s, and inspired plays and fashions.

In fact, it was the result of newlywed Colette being locked in a room by her publisher husband and ordered to churn out a spicy bestseller.

The book is a frenzied outpouring of schoolgirl crushes, lesbian caresses, sobbings, tremblings of jealousy, fury and lines such as ‘she looked into the very depths of my soul, eyes like red-hot pokers.' The wonder is that, following this effervescent froth and Colette giving hubby the elbow, she metamorphosed into an outstandingly gifted writer.

Fascinating, then, to read the first feverish efforts of a literary icon. Keira Knightley is starring in a film of Colette's life, so read this before you see it.




 

OF MICE AND MEN

OF MICE AND MEN by John Steinbeck (The Folio Society £29.95, 112pp)

by John Steinbeck (The Folio Society £29.95, 112pp)  

Two drifter farm hands find work moisture absorbers in pill bottles California's fields.

Since childhood, long-suffering George has been minder to brain-damaged Lennie, a gentle giant with baby-like dependence on George. ‘I never get no peace,' grumbles George, whose dream is to buy a smallholding, tend crops, keep chickens and give Lennie, who loves to pet small animals, his own rabbits.

Roaming the ranch is the boss's flirty young wife, a teasing trouble-maker who corners Lennie in the barn.

‘I like to stroke nice, soft things,' he shyly confides, and she urges him to stroke her hair . . .

The escalating tension and pathos of Steinbeck's unforgettable story leaves you numb. This slipcased edition, stunningly illustrated by James Albon, does it justice.