GLBT Literature: Proust Group
Proust Group
Congratulations to all of us in the Proust Group! After two years (February 2001 to January 2003) and 3,500 pages, we have concluded our discussions of Marcel Proust's monumental novel, In Search of Lost Time, aka Remembrance of Things Past.
Below are links to various articles, guides, Web sites, and more. Proust's unabridged original texts are now being made available online for free. On a lighter — and fluffier — note, I've also included a recipe for madeleines, the little cakes which set Proust's vast novel in motion. Enjoy!
Proust Resources
- Proust Editions are listed below — including free online texts
- Proust Study Guide — many fine resources
- Proust — same-sex aspects of his life and work
- Kolb-Proust Archive — devoted to the study of the author and his time
- TempsPerdu.com — site for the study and appreciation of Proust's monumental novel
- Proust's Letters & Articles — features English translations of his lesser known writings
- Proust Said That — "the highly unofficial organ of the totally unofficial, utterly unacademic Marcel Proust Support Group of San Francisco"
- Proust Film Adaptations — from the Internet Movie Database (IMDb)
- Céleste — biographical film about the friendship of Proust and his maid Céleste, from director Percy Adlon (Sugarbaby)
- Feuillade's 1915 film, Les Vampires [refers to a gang of master criminals; nothing supernatural] — This 10-part, seven-hour adventure serial — shot on location all over Paris — gives a first-hand look at Proust's contemporary milieu, from upper echelon society to the shadowy criminal underworld and everything in between. Les Vampires is also wildly entertaining; and was a major influence on the Surrealists (who relished its "questioning of narrative certainty"), not to mention all the action/adventure films made in the past 86 years. Say, wasn't that the Baron de Charlus at the ill-fated ball in Episode 5?
Our Discussions
- January 25, 2003 — all of Time Regained, at the home of Sharon G
- October 12, 2002 — all of The Fugitive (aka The Sweet Cheat Gone), at the home of Julia A
- July 27, 2002 — all of The Captive, at the home of Andrew S
- June 1, 2002 — second half of Sodom & Gomorrah (aka Cities of the Plain), at the home of Sharon G
- April 6, 2002 — first half of Sodom & Gomorrah (aka Cities of the Plain), at the home of Suzanne P
- January 26, 2002 — The Guermantes Way, Chapter 2, at the home of Julia A
- October 20, 2001 — The Guermantes Way, Chapter 1, at the home of Sharon G
- August 11, 2001 — all of Within a Budding Grove, at the home of Joseph D
- June 22, 2001 — the second half of Swann's Way, at the home of Cathy & Ina
- April 27, 2001 — the first half of Swann's Way, at the home of Sharon G
- February 2001 — organizational meeting
Getting Books
A highly-regarded English version of Remembrance of Things Past is Terence Kilmartin's revision, made 20 years ago, of C.K. Scott-Moncrieff's original translation. Free copies of Proust's original French texts are beginning to appear online.
- Amazon.com — Remembrance of Things Past — Complete Set
- A la Recherche du Temps Perdu — unabridged, free online from Project Gutenberg.
- Du Côté de Chez Swann
- A L'Ombre des Jeunes Filles en Fleur I
- A L'Ombre des Jeunes Filles en Fleur II
- A L'Ombre des Jeunes Filles en Fleur III
- Le Côté de Guermantes I
- Le Coté de Guermantes II
- Le Côté de Guermantes III
- Sodome et Gomorrhe I
- Sodome et Gomorrhe II
- Check Project Gutenberg for forthcoming volumes, until all of Proust is online.
Madeleines
Proust immortalized the madeleine when he wrote, "I raised to my lips a spoonful of the cake... a shudder ran through my whole body and I stopped, intent upon the extraordinary changes that were taking place."
Madeleines [mad-LEHN] are small, feather-light, spongy cakes eaten like a cookie, often dipped in coffee or tea. They are baked in a special pan with scallop-shell indentations; the finished cakes take the form of the shell. Would you like to bake some?
Madeleines (recipe from Epicurious)
2 large eggs
2/3 cup sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon grated lemon peel
Pinch of salt
1 cup all purpose flour
10 tablespoons (1-1/4 sticks) unsalted butter, melted, cooled slightly
Powdered sugar
YIELDS ABOUT 20
Preheat oven to 375 F. Generously butter and flour pan for large madeleines (about 3 x 1-1/4 inches — this metal mold with scallop-shaped indentations is sold at cookware stores).
Using electric mixer, beat eggs and 2/3 cup sugar in large bowl just to blend. Beat in vanilla, lemon peel and salt. Add flour; beat just until blended. Gradually add cooled melted butter in steady stream, beating just until blended.
Spoon 1 tablespoon batter into each indentation in pan. Bake until puffed and brown, about 16 minutes. Cool 5 minutes. Gently remove from pan. Repeat process, buttering and flouring pan before each batch. (Can be made 1 day ahead.)
Dust cookies with powdered sugar.
Wash and dry hands, then return to reading Proust within arm's reach of the madeleines.
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