Henry Gauthier-Villars
Biography
Born on 8 August 1859 in Villiers-sur-Orge, Essonne into a bourgeois Catholic family, he attended the Lycée Fontanes and later the Jesuit Collège Stanislas in Paris. He became fluent in Latin and German. In 1885, he obtained a law degree and subsequently started with a job in the family's publishing firm of Gauthier-Villars.[4]
Willy was a ladies’ man;
Colette was initially handling his correspondence, but soon became involved in writing on her own starting with Claudine, her first work under the Willy label. The success led to more novels in the Claudine series. It is generally acknowledged that these books were written by Colette, but he had his hand in editing and honing the manuscripts.[3] Willy also went into merchandizing dolls and other items based on the Claudine novels.
Colette soon learned that Willy had other affairs, and she met his mistress Charlotte Kinceler, who later became her friend. Later, Willy and Colette had an affair unbeknownst to each other with the same woman, the American socialite
The marriage to Colette lasted until 1910, although they separated in 1906. While Willy made a lot of money, he squandered it with ease on women and gambling and was facing bankruptcy. Willy went on to marry Marguerite Maniez, also known as Meg Villars after her marriage. He had no children from his two marriages; his son, Jacques, was the offspring from a prior affair. Willy died on 12 January 1931 in Paris. Three thousand mourners followed his casket to the
In 1905, Willy was painted by Giovanni Boldini.
In popular culture
Willy is played by Dominic West in the 2018 film Colette which stars Keira Knightley in the eponymous role of his first wife.[5]
Bibliography
- Willy, Colette et moi, Sylvain Bonmariage, introduction by Jean-Pierre Thiollet, Anagramme, Paris, 2004 (reprint)
References
- ISBN 9782813211897– via Google Books.
- ISBN 9782081302037– via Google Books.
- ^ a b c Koski, Lorna (27 December 2013). "Book Tells Story of Colette's France". WWD. Retrieved 3 January 2014.
- ^ ISBN 0-7475-4843-9.
- ^ Emily Tannenbaum (September 28, 2018). "Dominic West Says It Was Easy to Tell Keira Knightley He Loved Her". Elle.
External links
- Encyclopædia Britannica (12th ed.). 1922. .
- Henry Gauthier-Villars at IMDb