The Soldier's Hat

In 1943, despite her own physical disabilities and the stress of living in a Paris under Nazi occupation, Colette, aged 70, published this delightful quartet of tales. In 'The Soldier's Hat', a middle-aged woman blossoms when an unlikely love affair embellishes her hard-working existence - until she makes a fateful mistake. 'The Tender Shoot' sees a fifty-year-old roué trounced when his roving eye falls on a fifteen-year-old country girl. In 'The Green Sealing Wax', the success of a widow's attempt to forge her late husband's will depends on the colour of the sealing wax she uses. 'Armande' is a tale of two bashful lovers. Maxime is unable to declare his passion for Armande, nor can she express her feelings for him, until one day she shakes a door handle too violently. A 'lost' story, 'A Wedding', from the first edition of Colette's final work of fiction, 'Gigi', completes this late flowering of Colette's exceptional talent.