24 November 1913: Swann’s Way is published

Marcel Proust was over forty years old when Swann’s Way, the opening volume of Proust’s great novel In Search of Lost Time, was first published, at his own expense, on this day in 1913.

Swann’s Way is the narrator’s recollections of childhood and a sensitive boy’s impressions of his family and neighbours, much of it centred on an older man named Charles Swann. He begins by remembering early bedtimes, trouble sleeping and vivid memories of his dreams. Years later, the taste of a madeleine cake dipped in tea leads to more memories of his childhood in the rural village of Combray coming to mind, and the story of Charles Swann’s love affair with a courtesan named Odette is revealed.

In Search of Lost Time follows the narrator’s recollections of childhood and experiences into adulthood in the late 19th-century and early 20th-century high-society France, while reflecting on the loss of time and lack of meaning in the world. It is a seven-volume novel, featuring more than 200 characters and coming to a massive total of 1,267,069 words that has been calculated to take an average reader more than 45 hours to complete.

Have you read it? If not, then you are in the majority, for reading Proust’s great autobiographical novel is a daunting task. But it is also an extremely rewarding one, as I discovered after making my way through the seven volumes to prepare for a visit to Proust country in France.