Editions Reliefs reissues Colette's botanical memory work

Editions Reliefs released a new edition of Pour un herbier by the writer Colette on November 6, 2026.

The book features a preface by Frédéric Maget and illustrations by Louise Collet. This work originated from a commission by publisher Henry-Louis Mermod in 1948. The project began when Mermod invited the 75-year-old Colette to explore her memories and the flora of her childhood home.

Mermod sent the writer luxury bouquets of flowers, including roses, camellias, and lilies, once or twice a week for at least a year. Colette wrote portraits of these plants, capturing their textures, scents, and personalities. The text serves as a meditation on time and memory rather than a scientific botanical study. Colette uses the flowers to revisit her childhood in Saint-Sauveur-en-Puisaye, a village in the Yonne region of France.

The writing reflects the influence of her mother, Sido, who taught her to observe the nuances of nature. The book explores the fleeting beauty of plants as a metaphor for the fragility of life. This new edition aims to reconnect literature with the living world through Colette's sensory prose.