What makes it even more remarkable - even groundbreaking - is that it was originally published in 1949.Ī film of “Olivia” with the same name, directed by the French filmmaker Jacqueline Audry, released in France in 1951 and in New York in 1954, is streaming now on the Criterion Channel.
Strachey’s tale would be a striking coming-of-age story no matter when it was published. Andrè Aciman, author of “Call Me by Your Name,” has written a fascinating introduction to the volume.
The story is narrated by Olivia, decades later, as she recalls the first time she was possessed by love. Olivia, an English girl who’s been sent by her family to Les Avons, has a crush on Mlle Julie, a founder of the school and one of its headmistresses. Set in the 19th century in Les Avons, a finishing school outside Paris, it takes us into the solar plexus of Olivia, 16, in the midst of her first infatuation. “Olivia,” by Dorothy Strachey, rereleased on June 9, is an elegant, evocative, absorbing love story. Especially if you’re young, queer and in the throes of your first love. But nothing leaves you so blissed out, yet so sucker-punched as your first crush.
There’s breakfast in bed on your birthday, the text break-up, the great Valentine’s Day date and the night when your romantic partner prefers binge-watching Netflix to having sex.
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