Proust's Duchess

How Three Celebrated Women Captured the Imagination of Fin-de-Siecle Paris

By: Caroline Weber

Narrated by: Suzanne Toren

PULITZER PRIZE FINALIST • A brilliant look at turn-of-the-century Paris through the first in-depth study of the three women Proust used to create his supreme fictional character, the Duchesse de Guermantes. “Weber has done a remarkable job of bringing to life…a world of culture, glamour and privilege.” —The Wall Street Journal

Geneviève Halévy Bizet Straus; Laure de Sade, Comtesse de Adhéaume de Chevigné; and Élisabeth de Riquet de Caraman-Chimay, the Comtesse Greffulhe--these were the three superstars of fin-de-siècle Parisian high society who, as Caroline Weber says, "transformed themselves, and were transformed by those around them, into living legends: paragons of elegance, nobility, and style." All well but unhappily married, these women sought freedom and fulfillment by reinventing themselves, between the 1870s and 1890s, as icons. At their fabled salons, they inspired the creativity of several generations of writers, visual artists, composers, designers, and journalists. Against a rich historical backdrop, Weber takes the reader into these women's daily lives of masked balls, hunts, dinners, court visits, nights at the opera or theater. But we see as well the loneliness, rigid social rules, and loveless, arranged marriages that constricted these women's lives. Proust, as a twenty-year-old law student in 1892, would worship them from afar, and later meet them and create his celebrated composite character for The Remembrance of Things Past.

Literature level writing in a biography

First, great performance. This is an incredible book. Weber’s writing is grabbing for the ring and has arguably grasped it. The parable of the eagle and the wren applies not just to Proust, but to Weber herself through this work.

The Search is a spectacular novel, but what is lost is how significant the real life characters are. These are former royalty and Bizet’s widow, unmentioned. Proust buried the lead, and Weber puts all of that in context that adds to the impressiveness of what he actually pulled off. Capote attempted something similar in his life and work, but didn’t manage to land it. It does baffle me that Proust communicates so little of the celebrity of his characters and milieu, focusing narrowly on the time, memory, and the pathos of humanity. He might have had a real best seller.

The secret life of an epoch and of women.

Tremendous. Every word a time machine into the secret life of an epoch and of women. Astonishing.

Enthralling, entertaining and brilliant

The back-stories to the three women who would inspire Proust to create the Countess In “In Search of Lost Time” are fascinating glimpses into 19th century France - and the first women who became famous for being famous (prefiguring today’s tabloid and social media stars). Weber’s superbly written narrative is rich in exquisite detail, grounded in astonishing research but above all filled with brilliance and compassion for women who used their opportunities to carve out lives worth remembering, behind the tulle and satin and chignons.

great story and performance

fascinating biographies of 3 captivating women and great french pronunciation on the part of the narrator. highly recommended

Outstanding

Very very detailed account of the women of the Mondane who enthralled and inspired Proust masterpiece In Search of Lost time. This is an excellent primer for anyone interested in reading In Search. Which is why I took it on.
The author outlines all the influences in Proust’s life.