Madame Proust

Marcel Proust's "In Search of Lost Time" opens with one of the most famous scenes in literature, as young Marcel, unable to fall asleep, waits anxiously for his mother to come to his bedroom and kiss him good night. Proust's own mother is central to the meaning of his masterpiece, and she has always held a special role in literary history, both as a character and as a decisive influence on the great writer's career. Without knowing much about her, we think of her as the quintessential writer's mother. Now, Evelyne Bloch-Dano's touching biography acquaints Proust fans with the real Jeanne Weil Proust. Written with the imaginative force of a novel, but firmly grounded in Jeanne and Marcel Proust's writings, Madame Proust skillfully captures the life and times of Proust's mother, from her German-Jewish background and her marriage to a Catholic grocer's son to her lifelong worries about her son's sexuality, health problems, and talent. As well as offering intimate glimpses of the Prousts' daily lives, Madame Proust also uses the family as a way to explore the larger culture of fin de siecle France, including high society, spa culture, Jewish assimilation, and the Dreyfus affair.Throughout, Bloch-Dano offers sensitive readings of Proust's work, drawing out the countless interconnections between his mother, his life, and his magnum opus. Those coming to "In Search of Lost Time" for the first time will find in Madame Proust a delightful primer on Marcel Proust's life and milieu. For those already steeped in the pleasures of Proust, this gem of a biography will give them a fresh understanding of the rich, fascinating background of the writer and his art.

"Evelyne Bloch-Dano's Madame Proust provides a wealth of new details about Marcel Proust's formative years and illustrates, as never before, the importance of his Jewish heritage. It does so by concentrating on the most important love relationship in Proust's life: the great affection he had for his mother. Carefully researched, richly documented, and skillfully translated by Alice Kaplan, Bloch-Dano's book deserves to be read by all who are interested in the life and works of Marcel Proust." - William C. Carter, author of Marcel Proust: A Life"

Evelyne Bloch-Dano is the author of many books, including a prize-winning biography of Emile Zola's mother and, most recently, a novel, Le Biographe. Alice Kaplan is the author of, among other books, French Lessons, The Collaborator: The Trial and Execution of Robert Brasillach, and The Interpreter.