The book is signed by the author. Four illustrated postcards by the author accompany each order.

Voyages géographiques et littéraires avec Marcel Proust reveals how Marcel Proust used banal situations (a sleepless night, a walk in the countryside), experienced during his travels, to transcend reality and give it an artistic and theatrical dimension. The result is a series of highly original pages in which, during a sleepless night, the furniture converses with each other and, during a walk, the trees split into two, adding a kind of 4th dimension to the landscape. The chapters reveal his mastery of the art of writing, as Jean Santeuil's early texts lacked the evocative power and relevance of those written later for the Recherche.

Voyages géographiques et littéraires avec Marcel Proust offers a glimpse into the daily life of one of the greatest writers of the twentieth century, and follows his creative path. It is also a series of biographical zooms in on the periods when this homebody city dweller ventured out on his own. When he was young, it was usually in the company of his mother that he 'braved' the sea air on the Normandy coast or the mountain winds in the Alps. Later, this homebody annuitant took a self-imposed 'holiday' to get away from his routine. He made an excellent strategic choice: it was during his summer holidays that he met the young girls in flower (the demoiselles d'Alton, for example) and the young men who would provide him with the models for Albertine and Saint Loup (Agostinelli, Nahmias, Plantevigne).

Voyages géographiques et littéraires avec Marcel Proust also opens up new horizons for readers of Proust, who can, for the duration of a book, walk in his company, learn about the behind-the-scenes of his work and as a bonus enjoy his humour, an aspect of his talent that is too little known.

The author : Michel Damblant is a landscape gardener and creator of the jardin Eden du voyageur at Belle-Ile-en-Mer, which he leads on guided tours.

Dimensions : 19,5 x 26,5 cm
Number of pages : 224, illustrated