In Search of Lost Time

Often compared to a symphony, this complex masterpiece is ideally suited for audio. Listening lets you appreciate anew the incredible beauty of Proust's language and the uniqueness of his style. The novel's narrator, Marcel, finds the true meaning of experience in memories stimulated by some random object or event. He recalls his childhood, and eventually reconstructs the story of Monsieur Swann and his passion for Odette, a beautiful, but socially inferior woman. Marcel's waking reverie gives rise to fascinating questions about the meaning of time. Swann's Way, with its long passages of intricate introspection, becomes much more accessible and enjoyable with George Guidall's lucid narration.

Remembrance of Things Past is one of the monuments of 20th century literature. Swann's Way is the first of seven volumes and sets the scene with the narrator's memories being famously provoked by the taste of that little cake, the madeleine, accompanied by a cup of lime-flowered tea. It is an unmatched portrait of fin-de-siecle France.

The introduction of a highly sensitive and imaginative child - the mother he loved, and from whom to be parted was such agony - and the father who, although loving in his own way, was incapable of understanding the emotional behavior of his delicate child.

Swann's Way is the first novel of Marcel Proust's seven-volume magnum opus In Search of Lost Time. Following the narrator's opening ruminations about the nature of sleep is one of twentieth-century literature's most famous scenes: the eating of the madeleine soaked in a "decoction of lime-flowers," the associative act from which the remainder of the narrative unfurls. After elaborate reminiscences about his childhood with relatives in rural Combray and in urban Paris, Proust's narrator recalls a story regarding Charles Swann, a major figure in his Combray childhood, and his escapades in nineteenth-century privileged Parisian society, revolving around his obsessive love for young socialite Odette de Crecy.Filled with searing, insightful, and humorous criticisms of French society, this novel showcases Proust's innovative prose style. With narration that alternates between first and third person, Swann's Way unconventionally introduces Proust's recurring themes of memory, love, art, and the human experience-and for nearly a century, audiences have deliciously savored each moment.

Remembrance of Things Past is one of the monuments of 20th century literature. The Guermantes Way is the third of seven volumes. The narrator penetrates the inner sanctum of Paris high society and falls in love with the fascinating Duchesse de Guermantes. Marcel Proust describes vividly the struggles for political, social and sexual supremacy played out beneath a veneer of elegant manners. He also finds himself pursued by the predatory Baron de Charlus.

In The Guermantes Way, Part I, Marcel penetrates the inner sanctum of Paris high society and falls in love with the fascinating Duchesse de Guermantes. With his unmatched powers of observation Proust vividly describes the struggles for political, social and sexual supremacy played out beneath a veneer of elegant manners. This is the fifth part of Naxos AudioBooks' recording of Marcel Proust's Remembrance of Things Past.

The Guermantes Way, Part II continues the story of Marcel's entry into the highest circles of French aristocracy. Having renewed his acquaintance with the enchanting Albertine who now submits to his amorous advances, Marcel finds himself pursued by the predatory Baron de Charlus.

Remembrance of Things Past is one of the monuments of 20th century literature. Sodom and Gomorrah is the fourth of seven volumes. Accidentally witnessing an encounter between the Baron de Charlus and the tailor Jupien, the narrator's eyes are opened to a world hidden from him until now; he suspects that Albertine is attracted to her own sex.

Volume VII of the Naxos AudioBooks recording of Remembrance of Things Past. Sodom and Gomorrah, Part I: Accidentally witnessing an encounter between the Baron de Charlus and the tailor Jupien opens Marcel's eyes to a world hidden from him till now. Meanwhile his love for Albertine is poisoned by the suspicion that she is attracted to her own sex. Sodom and Gomorrah – Cities of the Plain addresses the subject of homosexual love with insight and understanding.

In Sodom and Gomorrah, Part II, Marcel continues his voyage of discovery through the homosexual world, where the affairs of the ageing Baron de Charlus lead to unexpected and hilarious adventures. But the discovery of a secret in the past of his mistress, Albertine, fills Marcel with fear and forces him to change his plans. Sodom and Gomorrah – Cities of the Plain addresses the subject of homosexual love with insight and understanding.

Remembrance of Things Past is one of the monuments of 20th-century literature. Neville Jason’s unabridged recording of the work runs to 150 hours. The Captive is the fifth of seven volumes. The Narrator’s obsessive love for Albertine makes her virtually a captive in his Paris apartment. He suspects she may be attracted to her own sex. Based on the translation by C. K. Scott Moncrieff.

A masterly portrayal of obsessive jealousy¿ Marcel's suspicions regarding Albertine's lesbian desires lead to his keeping of her as a virtual prisoner in his Paris apartment.

The fractured relationship between Albertine and Marcel continues, with Marcel's fixations of his lover's outside interest driving the affair to a bitter conclusion.

The Fugitive is the sixth of seven volumes. The Narrators obsessive feelings for Albertine have forced her to flee. It comes as a terrible shock and is followed by further debilitating news about other friends.

Lost in the blacked-out streets of Paris during the First World War, Marcel stumbles into a brothel and accidentally witnesses a shocking crime involving Baron de Charlus. Later, at a reception given by the Prince de Guermates, his meditations on the passage of time lead to his determination to embark on his life's work at last.

Charles Swann's passionate, tormented love affair with the courtesan Odette de Crecy, and its surprising outcome. Set in the degenerate demi-monde of nineteenth-century Paris as well as in the fashionable drawing rooms of the aristocracy.