4 h 34 minAudiobook5 minSummaryRead it, hear it, the 15-minute summary, and print and large print at costPaperback · 6 × 9 in · printing soonHardcover · 6 × 9 in · printing soonAbout this book
What if the affair you never call love becomes the one thing you cannot bear to lose?
In Paris before the First World War, Léa de Lonval shares a comfortable, private life with Fred Peloux, whom she calls Chéri. She is a wealthy courtesan of forty-nine. He is beautiful, spoiled and twenty-five. They have been lovers for six years, yet neither calls their bond love.
Then Charlotte Peloux arranges her son's marriage to Edmée, a young woman who hopes to be truly loved. Money and standing shape the match. As the wedding approaches, Chéri grows restless, and Léa's composure comes under strain. Colette explores what happens when habit and desire meet the pressure of age.
What you’ll discover
- A room full of feeling Enter Léa's bedroom, where pale silks, scent and soft light frame a comfortable affair.
- A proud woman's composure Meet a practical, generous woman facing the age when her world expects her to withdraw.
- Beauty without self-knowledge Follow Chéri's charm and moods as he struggles to understand his own heart.
- Marriage as a bargain Watch Charlotte and Marie-Laure plan a match while Edmée hopes for love.
- Small scenes, deep feeling Discover how Colette uses rooms, objects and restraint to bring private emotions close.
Who will love it
You will love this if you enjoy stories of love and manners in old Paris, witty talk, rich detail of houses and dresses, and characters whose feelings run deeper than their words.
What’s inside
The key ideas, in the 15-minute summary
- A pampered lover and his patient mistress
- Charlotte Peloux and a ruined childhood
- An affair that began with a kiss
- A marriage arranged like a business deal
- Léa sees her own future
- Chéri at home, and Chéri adrift
- What the story is really about
Who’s who
- Léa de LonvalA forty-nine-year-old retired courtesan, practical and proud, who loves her young lover and hides how much she needs him.
- ChériFred Peloux, a spoiled and beautiful twenty-five-year-old who takes comfort from Léa and cannot say what he feels.
- Charlotte PelouxChéri's mother, a loud former dancer with a sharp eye for money, gossip and Léa's weak points.
- EdméeMarie-Laure's young daughter, quiet and clever, who marries Chéri and tries to win a husband who looks elsewhere.
- Marie-LaureA dazzling red-haired courtesan, Edmée's mother, who bargains hard over her daughter's marriage.
- PatronA gentle boxer and Léa's friend, who trains Chéri and holds firm views on honor and money.
- DesmondA hollow-cheeked young viscount who lives off Chéri's money and follows him from restaurant to hotel.
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- Audiobook
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- Paperback
- 6 × 9 in. Printing soon: leave your email under Paperback or Hardcover above.
- Hardcover
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- Large print paperback
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- Large print hardcover
- 8.5 × 11 in. Printing soon: leave your email under Paperback or Hardcover above.
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Read and hear Chéri in 25 languages and switch at any time. Or read two side by side, paragraph by paragraph: the way to learn a language with a book you love.
Chéri
by Colette · 1920
At forty-nine, a courtesan lets her young lover play with her pearls, while a wedding is quietly arranged.
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In short
What happens when a pampered young man is told to marry, and the woman who has kept him for six years must smile and let him go? Colette, the French novelist, wrote Chéri about Léa, a courtesan of forty-nine, and Fred Peloux, called Chéri, who is twenty-five.
From the 15-minute summary · Key idea 1
A pampered lover and his patient mistress
The novel opens in Léa's pink bedroom in Paris, with its great bed of iron and copper. Chéri, beautiful and spoiled, dances in front of the mirror wearing her pearl necklace. He is rude, vain and funny, and she scolds him like a nurse.
Léa, known as Léa de Lonval, is a retired courtesan who loves order, fine linen, old wines and good cooking. She dresses Chéri, ties his tie and sends him off to lunch with his mother. When he jokes about his wedding trousseau, she smiles, yet the idea already troubles her.
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What is Chéri by Colette about?
It tells of Léa, a retired courtesan of forty-nine, and Chéri, her beautiful lover of twenty-five. When his mother arranges a marriage for him, both must face what their six years together meant.
Who is Chéri in the novel?
Chéri is the nickname of Fred Peloux, the spoiled son of Charlotte Peloux. He calls Léa Nounoune.
What does the pearl necklace mean in Chéri?
The pearls show wealth and gift-giving, and they also mark the difference in age. Léa fears Chéri will notice her ageing neck, while he plays with the pearls as he plays with her.
The author
Colette
1873–1954 · French novelist
Colette was a French novelist born in Saint-Sauveur-en-Puisaye in 1873. She later lived in Paris, where she died in 1954. Her novels include Chéri, published in 1920, and The Ripening Seed, published in 1923. She also wrote Sido, published in 1930, and worked as a journalist and stage performer.
More by Colette
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