Sidonie-Gabrielle Claudine Colette was born in 1873 in Saint-Sauveur-en-Puisaye, Burgundy. Growing up in a free environment close to nature, she developed an acute sensitivity to language, physicality and sensuality at an early age. Her marriage to the writer Willy brought her to Paris, where she first wrote, in her husband's shadow, the famous Claudine novels, which were published under his name. After their separation, Colette began an independent life as a stage artist, journalist and author. Her works deal with passion, independence and the relationship between body and mind. Books such as Chéri, La Vagabonde and La Naissance du jour made her one of the most important French writers of her time. Colette died in Paris in 1954 and was the first woman to be given a state funeral in France. Her work is still considered today as a hymn to life and women's freedom.