Marcel Proust

Born in Auteuil, Paris, on July 10, 1871, Marcel Proust was a French novelist, literary critic, and essayist. He grew up in a prosperous family and became closely acquainted with the artistic, intellectual, and aristocratic circles of fin-de-siècle France—experiences that later shaped his fiction.

Proust is best known for À la recherche du temps perdu, published in seven volumes between 1913 and 1927, with the final volumes appearing after his death. Blending autobiography, social observation, and philosophical reflection, the work explores memory, love, jealousy, art, and the passage of time. Proust died in Paris on November 18, 1922.