The new movie Colette, depicting the early life and career of the eponymous French writer, places Keira Knightley in the Parisian literary scene of the late nineteenth century.

Focusing on her husband’s assuming the credit and financial rewards for her own writing, the narrative shows Colette’s growing struggles within her marriage and with the social and gender conventions of the time.

The late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries are currently a very popular era for period fiction. Inspired by Colette, we’ve created a gallery focusing mainly on female characters of this era, many with an unconventional and literary flavour…

We hope you find inspiration in the selection!