Marcel Proust (1871–1922) was born in Auteuil, France. In
his twenties, following a year in the army, he became a conspicuous
society figure, frequenting the most fashionable Paris salons of
the day. After 1899, however, his chronic asthma, the death of his
parents, and his growing disillusionment with humanity caused him
to lead an increasingly retired life. From 1907 on, he rarely
emerged from a cork-lined room in his apartment on boulevard
Haussmann. There he insulated himself against the distractions of
city life and the effects of trees and flowers—though he loved
them, they brought on his attacks of asthma. He slept by day and
worked by night, writing letters and devoting himself to the
completion of In Search of Lost Time.
James Grieve, a visiting fellow at the Australian National
University, has published a translation of Proust’s Swann's Way and
In the Shadow of Young Girls in Flower, and other novels for
young adults.
Christopher Prendergast (series editor) is a professor
emeritus of French literature at the University of Cambridge and a
Fellow of King’s College.
Indispensable... the critical modernist work, overtop-ping the books of even such giants as Joyce and Mann. (Peter Brooks, "The New York Times Book Review")
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