Marcel Proust

Marcel Proust’s combination of solitary genius and passionate observance of social custom has made him an object of fascination to generations of readers enthralled by his great masterpiece, In Search of Lost Time. In this vivid and concise biography, Mary Ann Caws, the acclaimed author of Virginia Woolf, succinctly and vividly explores the details of Proust’s life, from his daily routines to the elite social circle that captivated his youth. Lavishly illustrated with Proust’s favorite paintings, portraits of the people he was close to; sources for his fictional characterizations of Sarah Bernhardt, Emile Zola, Alfred Dreyfuss, and others; copious illustrations of the Ballets Russes Proust attended with such enthusiasm; scores of the music he loved, manuscripts, sketches, and the places dear to him and central to the great novel that was his life’s work, Marcel Proust offers readers the unique opportunity to partake in the author’s vision-and to see him as his contemporaries did.