Oh dear Colette… You make me feel dizz… With your books retracing your childhood memories and your youth in your beloved Saint-Sauveur en Puisaye. You have a unique way of presenting your Puisaye, by rolling the “R”, that makes me want to go there to know better, to know YOU better.
Ambiance automnale à Saint-Sauveur en Puisaye, village natal de Colette – ©Daniel Salem
Colette is ever-present in Puisaye
It’s not only about a museum, you know ! It is that they love you Colette, they have memories of you, as you have memories of them, that you recollect in your novels. And their homage doesn’t stop there : they now have it ! What ? What do they have ? Well, your house, at last ! The place where you grew up, you know, the one that is lame because of the stairs. Anyway visitors can now visit and walk around it, guided by enthusiasts. And there also is the museum in the castle. And if it still isn’t enough, there’s the “Colette trail“, to walk into your steps whilr reading your books and discover your Puisaye, as if were guiding us yourself.
A lyrical setting at the musée Colette
The museum is filled with your words, we can here your voice and even catch a glimpse of you ! We can even visit the reproductio of your place at le Palais Royal in Paris. As it recreates your life and work history, the museum draws the visitor into a lyrical atmosphere. And what about the little shop where we can relax and buy some of your books ? It’s a little heaven with a view on the parc in front of the castle.
A real writer’s place
And if only you could see your house, it’s so gorgeous ! It’s like the way it used to be back in the 1870s/80s when you were merely as tall as a Puisaye piece of poettery ! And even if you’ve spent a part of your early life nearby at Châtillon-Coligny, la Puisaye-Forterre is your homeland, it’s where your heart is. You left, but you came back in 1895 with your husband Willy, and also in 1922 when « la maison de Claudine » was published. As if you were retracing your past, a return to your roots…
Anyway, wheter it be in your house or in « le jardin d’en face » (the garden accross the street), we are walking in your steps, your book in the hand, we read your words and we’re drawn back into your childhood and your early year, dearest Colette…
La chambre de Colette, maison natale de Colette à Saint-Sauveur en Puisaye – ©Clarke Drahce