La Garçonne
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La Garçonne is a novel by Victor Margueritte first published in 1922. It deals with the life of a young woman who, upon learning that her fiancé is cheating on her, decides to live life freely, on her own terms. This includes having multiple sexual partners. The title is somewhat difficult to translate -- it means "the boy", but boy has a feminine suffix on it. (Garçon means boy). The title addresses the somewhat shadowy realm between genders where a free-thinking and free-living woman was placed by the society of the day.
Although the theme isn't particularly shocking in the present day, at the time it was considered quite scandalous; it even caused Victor Margueritte to lose his medal of the Légion d'honneur.
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NB 'Garçonne' is synonymous for the English 'Flapper' (women's fashion of the 1920s epitomised by the 'bob' haircut).
