The Pure and the Impure

By Colette
Introduction by Judith Thurman
Translated by Herma Briffault

Best Seller
The Pure and the Impure by Colette

Look Inside | Enlarge Cover

Paperback $16.95

Sep 30, 2000 | 208 Pages

Paperback
–


    Warning: Invalid argument supplied for foreach() in /www/prhdev/candreotti-prhcom.dev.randomhouse.com/www/wp-content/themes/penguinrandomhouse/mvc/PenguinRandomHouse/View/php/product-details/content-main.phtml on line 271
  • Paperback $16.95

    Sep 30, 2000 | 208 Pages

Buy the Paperback:

About The Pure and the Impure

Colette herself considered The Pure and the Impure her best book, "the nearest I shall ever come to writing an autobiography." This guided tour of the erotic netherworld with which Colette was so intimately acquainted begins in the darkness and languor of a fashionable opium den. It continues as a series of unforgettable encounters with men and, especially, women whose lives have been improbably and yet permanently transfigured by the strange power of desire. Lucid and lyrical, The Pure and the Impure stands out as one of modern literature’s subtlest reckonings not only with the varieties of sexual experience, but with the always unlikely nature of love.

Get the news you want from Penguin Random House

Product Details

Paperback
Published by NYRB Classics
Sep 30, 2000 | 208 Pages | 5 x 8 | ISBN 9780940322486

Also by Colette

People Who Read The Pure and the Impure Also Read

‹ ›
Candide
Candide
Francois Voltaire
Story of O
Story of O
Pauline Reage
The Phantom of the Opera
The Phantom of the Opera
Gaston Leroux
The Devil in the Flesh
The Devil in the Flesh
Raymond Radiguet
The Diving Bell and the Butterfly
The Diving Bell and the Butterfly
Jean-Dominique Bauby
The Lost Estate (Le Grand Meaulnes)
The Lost Estate (Le Grand Meaulnes)
Henri Alain-Fournier
Dangerous Liaisons
Dangerous Liaisons
Pierre Choderlos de Laclos
Suite Francaise
Suite Francaise
Irene Nemirovsky
Arsène Lupin, Gentleman-Thief
Arsène Lupin, Gentleman-Thief
Maurice Leblanc
Cyrano de Bergerac
Cyrano de Bergerac
Edmond Rostand
Philosophy in the Boudoir
Philosophy in the Boudoir
Marquis de Sade
Selected Fables
Selected Fables
Jean De La Fontaine
Mouchette
Mouchette
Georges Bernanos
Under Fire
Under Fire
Henri Barbusse
Persepolis
Persepolis
Marjane Satrapi
Against Nature (A Rebours)
Against Nature (A Rebours)
Joris-Karl Huysmans
Balzac and the Little Chinese Seamstress
Balzac and the Little Chinese Seamstress
Dai Sijie
The Red and the Black
The Red and the Black
Stendhal
The Elementary Particles
The Elementary Particles
Michel Houellebecq
Zazie in the Metro
Zazie in the Metro
Raymond Queneau
Scaramouche
Scaramouche
Rafael Sabatini
Planet of the Apes
Planet of the Apes
Pierre Boulle
Perfume
Perfume
Patrick Suskind
The Scarlet Pimpernel
The Scarlet Pimpernel
Baroness Orczy
In Search of Lost Time Volume IV Sodom and Gomorrah
In Search of Lost Time Volume IV Sodom and Gomorrah
Marcel Proust
The Lover
The Lover
Marguerite Duras
How Proust Can Change Your Life
How Proust Can Change Your Life
Alain De Botton
Molloy, Malone Dies, The Unnamable
Molloy, Malone Dies, The Unnamable
Samuel Beckett
Interview with the Vampire
Interview with the Vampire
Anne Rice
The Immoralist
The Immoralist
Andre Gide
Pensées
Pensées
Blaise Pascal
Lolita
Lolita
Vladimir Nabokov and Vladimir Nabokov
The Stranger
The Stranger
Albert Camus
Madame Bovary
Madame Bovary
Gustave Flaubert
The Princesse de Cleves
The Princesse de Cleves
Madame de Lafayette
The Scarlet Pimpernel
The Scarlet Pimpernel
Baroness Emmuska Orczy
The Woman Destroyed
The Woman Destroyed
Simone De Beauvoir
The Heptameron
The Heptameron
Marguerite de Navarre
The Gods Will Have Blood
The Gods Will Have Blood
Anatole France
Reveries of the Solitary Walker
Reveries of the Solitary Walker
Jean-Jacques Rousseau
Bel-Ami
Bel-Ami
Guy de Maupassant
Nana
Nana
Emile Zola

Inspired by Your Browsing History

Related Articles

Back to Top

Visit other sites in the Penguin Random House Network

Biographile

Biographile

Discover the world through biography and memoir
Bookscout

Bookscout

Make reading social

Books for Better Living

Health & Wellness
Everyday eBook

Everyday eBook

Smart, savvy reading, delivered daily
First to Read

First to Read

Early access to Penguin’s Hottest New Titles
Suvudu

Suvudu

The mothership for Fantasy, Science Fiction, Comics, & more
Tastebook img

Tastebook

Over 4 million recipes to search and collect
Word and Film

Word and Film

The intersection of books, movies, and television