Soldier's Hat (and other stories)

In 1943, despite her own physical disabilities and the stress of living in a Paris under Nazi occupation, Colette, aged 70, published this delightful quartet of tales.In ''The Soldier''s Hat'', a middle-aged woman blossoms when an unlikely love affair embellishes her hard-working existence - until she makes a fateful mistake.''The Tender Shoot'' sees a fifty-year-old roué trounced when his roving eye falls on a fifteen-year-old country girl.In ''The Green Sealing Wax'', the success of a widow''s attempt to forge her late husband''s will depends on the colour of the sealing wax she uses.''Armande'' is a tale of two bashful lovers. Maxime is unable to declare his passion for Armande, nor can she express her feelings for him, until one day she shakes a door handle too violently…A ''lost'' story, ''A Wedding'', from the first edition of Colette''s final work of fiction, ''Gigi'', completes this late flowering of Colette''s exceptional talent.