"Always try to keep a patch of sky above your life."

Some fun facts about Monsieur Proust as we continue our journey through the first volume of In Search of Lost Time.

• Proust's full name was Valentin Louis Georges Eugene Marcel Proust

• Proust struggled with asthma throughout his lifetime. He died from a bout of pneumonia on November 18, 1922.

• In Search of Lost Time was written after a self-imposed seclusion shortly after the passing of Proust's mother. It was published posthumously. The pages total 4,600 and features more than 2,000 characters.

• Proust spent his life as a closeted homosexual and it is thought that his lovers included Lucien Daudet and Reynaldo Hahn.

• Proust's father was a well known pathologist and an author of many books on medicine and hygiene. His mother was an equally well-read woman, descended from a rich, Jewish family.

I am thoroughly enjoying the humor and imagery with which Marcel Proust composes his narrative. At first, I was terrified to take on all of In Search of Lost Time. Now I can't wait til we get to the episode where I get to move past Swann's Way!

#marcelproust #insearchoflosttime