Marcel Proust (1871–1922) published his first book, Les Plaisirs et les Jours, in 1896, under the patronage of Anatole France. He is best known for his six-volume, 4,000-page novel, À la recherche du temps perdu, written and published over a 14-year period.
Edward H. Ousselin, Professor of Modern and Classical Languages at Western Washington University, is the author of The Invention of Europe in French Literature and Film.