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Proust Fans Eagerly Await Trove of Letters Going Online Proust Fans Eagerly Await Trove of Letters Going Online
(about 1 hour later)
Marcel Proust’s legions of fans have obsessed about the meaning of his sometimes impenetrable prose, fetishized his tatty fur coat and bed, parsed his manuscripts and, fairly or not, lauded “Remembrance of Things Past” as the greatest literary work of the 20th century.Marcel Proust’s legions of fans have obsessed about the meaning of his sometimes impenetrable prose, fetishized his tatty fur coat and bed, parsed his manuscripts and, fairly or not, lauded “Remembrance of Things Past” as the greatest literary work of the 20th century.
Now, Proustians the world over are eagerly awaiting two events that may shed new light on the self-consciously eccentric writer and master excavator of memories who arguably out-Joyced Joyce in his epic modernism and whose prose Nabokov once called “translucid.”Now, Proustians the world over are eagerly awaiting two events that may shed new light on the self-consciously eccentric writer and master excavator of memories who arguably out-Joyced Joyce in his epic modernism and whose prose Nabokov once called “translucid.”
Some 6,000 letters written by Proust, many of which were collected and published by the Proust scholar Philip Kolb of the University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign, will be published online and made available free to scholars and general readers alike. Some 6,000 letters written by Proust, many of which had been collected and published by the scholar Philip Kolb of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, will be published online and made available free to scholars and general readers alike. (Professor Kolb died in 1992.)
The first tranche of the letters, several hundred related to the First World War, are expected to be published online by Nov. 11, 2018, to coincide with the 100th anniversary of the end of the war, according to the University of Grenoble Alpes, one of the French institutions collaborating on the project. The first tranche of the letters, several hundred related to World War I, is expected to be published online by Nov. 11, 2018, to coincide with the 100th anniversary of the end of the war, according to Grenoble Alpes University, one of the French institutions collaborating on the project.
Proust wrote thousands of letters, but the project, led by Illinois, will focus on about 200 letters that he had written to his younger brother, Robert, who had fought during the war. (Proust, weak and bedridden, never made it to the battlefront.) Proust wrote thousands of letters, but the project will focus on about 200 that he had written during the war years, including some to his younger brother, Robert, a surgeon who was mobilized during the conflict. (Proust, weak and bedridden, never made it to the battlefront.)
And for those seeking more instant gratification, on Oct. 30, the fifth copy of the first five special-edition copies of “Swann’s Way” — the first volume of the seven-volume “Remembrance of Things Past” — will go on auction at Sotheby’s in Paris. And for those seeking more instant gratification, on Oct. 30, the fifth copy of the first five special-edition copies of “Swann’s Way” — the initial volume of the seven-volume “Remembrance of Things Past” — will be auctioned at Sotheby’s in Paris.
Sotheby’s said Proust had dedicated the copy to Louis Brun, a director at Grasset, the French publisher of his work, and had last been placed on auction in 1942. “Swann’s Way” was published in French on Nov. 8, 1913, and initially floundered before attracting wide acclaim and transforming Proust into a global literary star. Sotheby’s said Proust had dedicated the copy to Louis Brun, a director at Éditions Grasset, the French publisher of his work, and that it had last appeared for auction in 1942. “Swann’s Way” was published on Nov. 8, 1913, and initially floundered before attracting wide acclaim and transforming Proust into a global literary star.
“The cult of Proust remains as strong as ever, and any documents that shed light on the writer invariably attract his many ardent followers,” Benoît Puttemans, a books and manuscripts specialist at Sotheby’s in Paris, said by phone on Thursday.“The cult of Proust remains as strong as ever, and any documents that shed light on the writer invariably attract his many ardent followers,” Benoît Puttemans, a books and manuscripts specialist at Sotheby’s in Paris, said by phone on Thursday.
In 2013, the last time one of the first five editions of “Swann’s Way” went on sale, the first copy — written on Japanese paper — was sold for $708,000 to a book dealer, before ending up in the collection of Pierre Bergé, co-founder of the fashion label Yves Saint Laurent, who recently died. In 2013, the last time one of the first five editions of “Swann’s Way” went on sale, the first copy — written on Japanese paper — sold for $708,000 to a book dealer, before ending up in the collection of Pierre Bergé, the co-founder of the fashion label Yves Saint Laurent who recently died.
The fifth copy, which Sotheby’s estimates could be sold for as much as $711,000, has generated particular attention because six letters by Proust setting out his strategy for marketing “Swann’s Way” were bound by Mr. Brun at the back of the book.The fifth copy, which Sotheby’s estimates could be sold for as much as $711,000, has generated particular attention because six letters by Proust setting out his strategy for marketing “Swann’s Way” were bound by Mr. Brun at the back of the book.
The letters show that Proust wrote and collected breathless, adulatory reviews of his own work and then paid for them to be published in newspapers such as Le Figaro.The letters show that Proust wrote and collected breathless, adulatory reviews of his own work and then paid for them to be published in newspapers such as Le Figaro.
The letters reveal that the writer had an adeptness for self-promotion and public relations worthy of the future digital age. All the more impressive, perhaps, he orchestrated the PR operation from his sickbed. The letters reveal that the writer had an adeptness for self-promotion and public relations worthy of the future digital age. All the more impressive, perhaps, he orchestrated the P.R. operation from his sickbed.
Displaying an amour propre that appeared to know little bounds, Proust cited a review by his friend, the painter, Jacques Émile-Blanche, who had lauded “Swann’s Way” as a “little masterpiece” and wrote that “like a gust of wind blows away the soporific vapors” of the other works available on the literary marketplace. Displaying an amour propre that appeared to know little bounds, Proust cited a review by his friend, the painter Jacques Émile-Blanche, who had lauded “Swann’s Way” as a “little masterpiece” and had written that “like a gust of wind blows away the soporific vapors” of the other works available on the literary marketplace.
Proust wrote the letters in longhand and they were typed up by his publisher, in an apparent attempt by the author to conceal their origins. Proust wrote his fawning letters in longhand and had them typed by his publisher in an apparent attempt to conceal their origin.
Noting that he had been compared to Dickens, Proust also cited Mr. Émile-Blanche’s estimation that the book suggested “the fourth dimension of the Cubists.” Invoking a review that had compared him to Dickens, Proust also cited Mr. Émile-Blanche’s estimation that the book suggested “the fourth dimension of the Cubists.”
“What Monsieur Proust sees and feels is completely original,” he wrote, noting that his writing had been praised as “almost too luminous for the eye.” “What Monsieur Proust sees and feels is completely original,” Proust wrote, quoting Mr. Émile-Blanche, and noting that his writing had been praised as “almost too luminous for the eye.”
Mr. Puttemans said the self-aggrandizement reflected the fact that Bernard Grasset, the head of his publishing house, had agreed to publish Swann’s Way, only on the condition that Proust pay for its publication — and promotion — himself. Mr. Puttemans said the self-aggrandizement reflected the fact that Bernard Grasset, the publisher, had agreed to handle “Swann’s Way” on the condition that Proust pay for its publication — and promotion.
The book had already been rejected by other publishers, he explained, and Proust was determined that the book be a success, and to show his literary merit. The book had already been rejected by other publishers, Mr. Puttemans explained, and Proust was determined to show its literary merit.
“I wouldn’t say Proust was narcissistic, as it was not so uncommon in that era for writers to write positive reviews of their own work,” Mr. Puttemans said. “It was a cunning thing to do, but Proust had a large network and he used it in a very modern way. He was ahead of his time.”“I wouldn’t say Proust was narcissistic, as it was not so uncommon in that era for writers to write positive reviews of their own work,” Mr. Puttemans said. “It was a cunning thing to do, but Proust had a large network and he used it in a very modern way. He was ahead of his time.”