Chéri: and, The end of Chéri

"An exquisite new translation of Colette's tragicomic masterpiece, a pair of novels exploring the relationship between an aging courtesan and a much younger man. Châeri and its sequel, The End of Châeri, mark Colette's finest achievements, in their brilliant, subtle, and frank investigations of love and power. Set in the Parisian demimonde in the last days of the Belle âEpoque, Châeri tells the story of Lâea, a courtesan at the end of a successful career, and her lover, the beautiful but emotionally opaque Châeri. Châeri will soon enter into an arranged marriage, ending their six-year affair, which-they will each realize too late-has been the one real love of their lives. The End of Châeri picks up their story in the aftermath of the First World War; as a psychically wounded Châeri begins an inexorable descent, he finds he cannot return to the Lâea he left"--