The Guermantes Way

The Guermantes Way (1920/21) is the third volume of Marcel Proust’s seven-part novel In Search of Lost Time. Written while Proust was virtually confined to his bedroom from a lifelong respiratory illness, The Guermantes Way is a story of memory, history, family, and romance from a master of Modernist literature. Praised by Virginia Woolf, Vladimir Nabokov, Michael Chabon, and Graham Greene, In Search of Lost Time explores the nature of memory and time while illuminating the history of homosexuality in nineteenth century Europe. The narrator moves to an apartment neighboring the home of the aristocratic Guermantes family. He soon grows obsessed with the beautiful Mme. de Guermantes, who refuses his invitation to meet. Disappointed, he rekindles his friendship with her nephew Saint-Loup, a soldier who introduces him to the salon of Mme. de Villeparisis. There, he observes Mme. de Guermantes up close, but soon loses interest as he attempts to pursue Mme. de Stermaria. Only then, as his attention wavers, does he receive an invite to the Guermantes home. As he grows and learns, he begins to recognize the reality concealed by convention: the secret liaisons between lovers; the petty competitions of artists; the fleeting nature of affection and lust alike. Written in flowing prose, The Guermantes Way is a masterpiece of twentieth century fiction that continues to entertain and astound over a century after it appeared in print. This edition of Marcel Proust’s The Guermantes Way is a classic work of French literature reimagined for modern readers.

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Marcel Proust (1871-1922) was a French novelist. Born in Auteuil, France at the beginning of the Third Republic, he was raised by Adrien Proust, a successful epidemiologist, and Jeanne Clémence, an educated woman from a wealthy Jewish Alsatian family. At nine, Proust suffered his first asthma attack and was sent to the village of Illiers, where much of his work is based. He experienced poor health throughout his time as a pupil at the Lycée Condorcet and then as a member of the French army in Orléans. Living in Paris, Proust managed to make connections with prominent social and literary circles that would enrich his writing as well as help him find publication later in life. In 1896, with the help of acclaimed poet and novelist Anatole France, Proust published his debut book Les plaisirs et les jours, a collection of prose poems and novellas. As his health deteriorated, Proust confined himself to his bedroom at his parents’ apartment, where he slept during the day and worked all night on his magnum opus In Search of Lost Time, a seven-part novel published between 1913 and 1927. Beginning with Swann’s Way (1913) and ending with Time Regained (1927), In Search of Lost Time is a semi-autobiographical work of fiction in which Proust explores the nature of memory, the decline of the French aristocracy, and aspects of his personal identity, including his homosexuality. Considered a masterpiece of Modernist literature, Proust’s novel has inspired and mystified generations of readers, including Virginia Woolf, Vladimir Nabokov, Graham Greene, and Somerset Maugham.