The long revered French novelist, critic and essayist is still thought to be one of the most influential authors of all time a century after this death on 18 November 1922. While Proust does have more than one work of fiction to his name - in 1896 he published the short story collection Les Plaisirs et Les Jours (Pleasures and Days), for example, and between 1895 and 1899 he wrote the autobiographical novel Jean Santeuil – when people refer to Proust they tend to be talking about A la Recherche du Temps Perdu (In Search of Lost Time). Perhaps you’ve dipped in to one of the monumental novel’s seven volumes, or maybe you’ve struggled to find a way in; either way, literary translator Lucy Raitz has put together this handy guide to the great writer for anyone who wants to know his work better.
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