CONGRATULATIONS!

CONGRATULATIONS to all of us in the Proust Reading Group! After two years and 3,500 pages, we have concluded our discussions of Marcel Proust's monumental novel, Remembrance of Things Past, aka In Search of Lost Time!

Online Proust Forum – Although we have achieved our goal of discussing all of Proust's magnum opus, you are welcome to post comments – on any aspect of Proust, and at any time – to our online Proust forum.

Proust Resources – Below are links to various articles and guides, and more. Proust's unabridged original texts are now being made available online for free. On a lighter – and fluffier – note, I have also included a recipe for madeleines, the little cakes which set Proust's vast novel in motion. Enjoy!

• Introduction to Proust – excellent place to begin; includes bibliographies
• Proust Study Guide – many fine resources
• 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 Previous 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
• Our Online Forum: the Proust Reading Group – your comments about Proust are always welcome!
• Gay & Lesbian Reading Group Online Forum – here you can comment on any aspect of GLBT Literature. What began as an offshoot of the 'second Thursday' Reading Group has now grown into an international discussion with over 120 members.

The most 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. If you buy books from Amazon.com or Buy.com, thanks for using these links! Free copies of Proust's original French texts are beginning to appear online. Amazon.com – Remembrance of Things Past – Complete Set Buy.com – Remembrance of Things Past – Complete Set A la Recherche du Temps Perdu – unabridged, free online from Project Gutenberg. Please note that the editing of Proust's original French texts, performed entirely by volunteers, will not be finalized for several months. Du Cote De Chez Swann (NEW EDITION includes accents) A L'Ombre Des Jeunes Filles En Fleur, Volume 1 A L'Ombre Des Jeunes Filles En Fleur, Volume 2 A L'Ombre Des Jeunes Filles En Fleur, Volume 3 future volumes will be forthcoming until all of Proust is online

At the beginning of Remembrance of Things Past, 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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