Albertine Gone - lunch post I

When I went to the library to renew the Marcel Proust to read Time Regained I noticed on the shelf a slim volume also produced by Chatto & Windus entitled Albertine Gone.

This is a version of The Fugitive that was found after Proust’s death but because of the radical revisions it contained, this is according to the introduction, it was not used by the family when they produced Remembrance of Things Past.

The main changes surround the location of Albertine’s horse riding accident, which confirm she was close to Madame Vinteuil, the woman Marcel is paranoid about.

Highlights from the first few pages

* Compared to the version that was read last week this is slightly sharper with the truth of his feelings and fears spelt out and as a result you can sense the shock of her departure more and share the expectation that she will return once he offers marriage

* He dwells on the conspiracy theories about the reason and timing of her departure but you sense there is a sympathetic anger building quicker than in the original version

More over lunch tomorrow…