4 h 34 minAudiobook14 minSummaryRead it, hear it, the 15-minute summary, and print and large print at cost
Audiobook edition · 4 h 34 minPaperback · 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 book if you enjoy French fiction, sharp social comedy, and love stories told with wit and sensual detail. It suits anyone drawn to portraits of ageing, beauty and desire.
What’s inside
The key ideas, in the 15-minute summary
- A marriage joke threatens a bond
- Chéri learns to expect indulgence
- Care becomes intimacy without confidence
- Marriage exposes the cost of composure
- Separation brings hidden pain into view
- Distance fails to loosen their attachment
- Time tests beauty money and habit
- Small objects reveal concealed feelings
- Love hides inside familiar routines
Who’s who
- Léa de LonvalA wealthy courtesan of forty-nine, proud of her taste and her body, who loves Chéri and hides how much she needs him.
- Chéri (Fred Peloux)A strikingly handsome, moody young man of twenty-five, raised without discipline, who treats Léa as home and cannot say what he feels.
- Charlotte PelouxChéri's mother, a former dancer with a trumpet voice, who mixes gossip, money and scheming in her Neuilly villa.
- EdméeA quiet eighteen-year-old, daughter of Marie-Laure, who marries Chéri and slowly learns that he loves another woman.
- Marie-LaureEdmée's beautiful, cold mother, who bargains hard over the marriage contract and holds a dangerous secret about a will.
- PatronA gentle boxer and friend of Léa, who trains Chéri and believes in simple honor, hard work and fidelity.
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Chéri
by Colette · 1920
Léa, a courtesan of forty-nine, watches her young lover Chéri prepare to marry a girl of eighteen.
Easy read2–5 hours to read16 languages
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In short
What does a woman do when the beautiful young man she has loved for six years announces, half as a joke, that he is going to marry? In Chéri, Léa de Lonval, a courtesan of forty-nine, wakes in her great copper bed to the sound of him playing with her pearl necklace.
Chéri at a glance
- Reading time
- About 2 h 40 min2 h 5 min fast, 3 h 10 min slow
- Length
- 38,100 words
- Library level
- Easy short sentences, plain words
- First published
- 1920by Colette
Reading time at 238 words a minute (fast 300, slow 200). How long the classics take to read · Updated
From the 15-minute summary · Key idea 1
A morning game hides a six-year bond
The novel opens in Léa's pink bedroom on Avenue Bugeaud in Paris. Chéri, in white silk pajamas, stands before the mirror wearing her pearl necklace and teases her to give it to him. She answers from the great bed and tells him he is wearing out the thread. It is a small scene, but it holds the whole relationship.
The two circle each other with a mix of cruelty and tenderness. He calls her Nounoune, the name he gave her as a child. She calls him a beautiful scoundrel. They have lived together for six years, and she sometimes calls it an adoption, because she likes to be honest.
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Which edition is right for me
- 15-minute summary
- The key ideas of the whole book in about 14 minutes. A good first look, or a refresher.
Details
- First published
- 1920
- Language
- English
- Reading time
- 2 h 55 min
- Level
- Easy read
Cite this edition
Colette. Chéri. Library of Alexandria, 2026, libraryofalexandria.com/products/cheri.
Colette. (2026). Chéri. Library of Alexandria. https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/cheri (Original work published 1920)
Colette. Chéri. Library of Alexandria, 2026. https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/cheri.
@book{colette2026cheri,
author = {Colette},
title = {Chéri},
publisher = {Library of Alexandria},
year = {2026},
url = {https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/cheri},
note = {First published 1920}
}
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What is Chéri by Colette about?
It tells of Léa, a courtesan of forty-nine, and her six-year affair with Chéri, a beautiful young man who is about to marry. It follows the pain of the parting and the lives of the women around him.
Who is Chéri and why is he called that?
Chéri, meaning darling in French, is the pet name of Fred Peloux, the spoiled son of Charlotte Peloux. Léa calls him that, and he calls her Nounoune, the name he gave her as a child.
When was Chéri written and is it based on real life?
Colette published it in 1920, and it is set in 1912 Paris. It is fiction, but it draws on the real demi-monde of courtesans and rich admirers that Colette knew well.
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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