Le Blé en herbe is the title of a novel written by French

France

The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...

 writer Colette

Colette

Colette was the surname of the French novelist and performer Sidonie-Gabrielle Colette . She is best known for her novel Gigi, upon which Lerner and Loewe based the stage and film musical comedies of the same title.-Early life and marriage:Colette was born to retired military officer Jules-Joseph...

 in 1923.
The book was written during the vacation of the writer on her property Roz-Ven in Saint-Coulomb

Saint-Coulomb

Saint-Coulomb is a commune in the Ille-et-Vilaine department in Brittany in north-western France.-Demographics:Inhabitants are called Colombanais.-History:Its name comes from Saint Colomban, who came in the years 580 - 590...

, between Saint-Malo

Saint-Malo

Saint-Malo is a walled port city in Brittany in northwestern France on the English Channel. It is a sub-prefecture of the Ille-et-Vilaine.-Demographics:The population can increase to up to 200,000 in the summer tourist season...

 and Cancale

Cancale

Cancale is a commune in the Ille-et-Vilaine department in Brittany in north-western France. It is known as the birthplace of Saint Jeanne Jugan.-Demographics:Inhabitants of Cancale are called Cancalais....

.

Plot summary

Phil and Vinca meet every year during the summer holidays. They know each other and have always been interested in the other, but Phil meets a woman who introduces him to carnal love. Vinca feels the betrayal of her friend.

The most recent English translation of the novel (2004) is Green Wheat, translated by Zack Rogow, nominated for the PEN/Book-of-the-Month Club Translation Award. An earlier translation (1955) by Roger Senhouse

Roger Senhouse

Roger Henry Pocklington Senhouse was an English publisher and translator, and a member of the Bloomsbury Group of writers, intellectuals, and artists...

 was entitled Ripening Seed.

Screen Adaptations

• 1954: Le Blé en herbe
  Le Blé en herbe (1954 film)
  Le Blé en herbe is a 1954 French film by Claude Autant-Lara based on the 1923 novel by French novelist Colette. The film stars Edwige Feuillère, Pierre-Michel Beck , Nicole Berger , Robert Berri and Louis de Funès. It is black and white with a monaural soundtrack....
  
  (English title: The Game of Love), film by Claude Autant-Lara
  Claude Autant-Lara
  Claude Autant-Lara , was a French film director and later Member of the European Parliament .-Biography:...
  
  , with: Edwige Feuillère
  Edwige Feuillère
  Edwige Feuillère was a distinguished French stage and film actress....
  
  , Pierre-Michel Beck, Nicole Berger, Robert Berri
  Robert Berri
  Robert Berri was a French film actor. He appeared in 100 films between 1937 and 1979.-Selected filmography:* Un linceul n'a pas de poches * The Three Musketeers * Le Blé en herbe...
  
   and Louis de Funès
  Louis de Funès
  Louis Germain David de Funès de Galarza was a very popular French actor who is one of the giants of French comedy alongside André Bourvil and Fernandel...
  
   ;

• 1973: The Ripening Seed (Away from It All, ер.1), BBC
  BBC
  The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
  
   television serie directed by Mischa Scorer
  Mischa Scorer
  Mischa Scorer is an award-winning British documentary film-maker.-Biography:Mischa Scorer worked as producer for BBC Television from 1965 to 1979, first in the Religious Broadcasting Department where he made such documentaries as “Padre Pio” for which he won the first prize in the WACC Monte Carlo...
  
  , with John Moulder-Brown, Lynne Frederick
  Lynne Frederick
  Lynne Maria Frederick was an English film actress. In a career spanning ten years she made about thirty films or television drama appearances, but she is best remembered as the last wife of Peter Sellers. She was married twice after his death.-Early life:Frederick was born in Hillingdon,...
  
  , Gayle Hunnicutt
  Gayle Hunnicutt
  Gayle, Lady Jenkins , known by her birth name Gayle Hunnicutt, is an American actress.-Personal life:Hunnicutt was born in Fort Worth, Texas, the daughter of Colonel Sam Lloyd Hunnicutt and Virginia Hunnicutt, and attended the University of California, Los Angeles. She worked as a fashion model...
  
   ;

• 1990: Le Blé en herbe, TV movie directed by Serge Meynard, with Isabelle Carré
  Isabelle Carré
  Isabelle Carré is a French actress, who has appeared in more than 40 films since 1989. She won a César Award for Best Actress for her role in Se souvenir des belles choses , and has been nominated a further six times, for Beau fixe , Le Hussard sur le toit , La Femme défendue , Les Sentiments ,...
  
  , Sophie Aubry, Matthieu Rozé and Marianne Basler.