In Search of Lost Time

‘Proust redefined the terms of fiction … a profound and often very witty masterpiece whose influence continues to pervade the body politic of imaginative prose’ 
Robert McCrum, Guardian Favourite Books of the Twentieth Century

The Prisoner and The Fugitive fulfill Swann’s much earlier warning to Marcel: ‘Though the subjection of the woman may briefly allay the jealousy of the man, it eventually makes it even more demanding’, as Marcel and Albertine are locked in a cycle of mistrust that threatens both their identities. But these are also novels of great lyrical excitement and beauty – in the Parisian street cries, the Vinteuil concert and Proust’s virtuoso description of Venice. Above all, these two works deal with the theme of the explosion and impact of memory that runs throughout In Search of Lost Time, pointing the reader towards its resolution.