"Chéri" by Colette is a novel published in 1920. It tells the story of an affair between Léa, a forty-nine-year-old retired courtesan, and Chéri, her lover of six years who is twenty-five. When Chéri prepares to marry a young woman his own age, both he and Léa must confront what their relationship truly means. Set against the backdrop of Parisian high society, this intimate portrait explores aging, desire, and the painful recognition of love discovered too late. (This is an automatically generated summary.)
These books are free to read. Each is in the public domain in the United States; check your own country's rules before you copy or share one.