English is the 'second language' of A la recherche du temps perdu. Although much has been written about Proust's debt to English literature, especially Ruskin, Daniel Karlin is the first critic to focus on his knowledge of the language itself - on vocabulary, idiom, and etymology. He uncovers an 'English world' in Proust's work, a world whose social comedy and artistic values reveal surprising connections to some of the novel's central preoccupations with sexuality and art. Anglomanie- the fashion for all things English - has been as powerful a presence in French culture as hostility to perfide Albion; Proust was both subject to its influence, and a brilliant critic of its excesses. French resistance to imported English words remains fierce to this day; but Proust's attitude to this most contentious aspect of Anglo-French relations was marked by his rejection of concepts of national and racial 'purity', and his profound understanding of the necessary 'impurity' of artistic creation.

Chapter 1: Proust's English World i. Anglomanie ii. For what fault have you most toleration? iii. 'Je ne pretends pas savoir l'anglais.' iv. 'I do not speak french' v. Le livre des snobs Chapter 2: Swann and Odette i. Enter Swann(s) ii. 'La dame en rose' iii. Odette's smarts iv. Odette orchidophile, Odette orchidee v. Odette en fleurs vi. Swann's way with words vii. 'C'est bien ce qu'on appelle un gentleman?' viii. L'israelite du Jockey ix. 'D'origine anglaise' Chapter 3: Choses Normandes i. Balbec as found ii. Le Grand-Hotel de Balbec-Cabourg iii. Le sport iv. The painter of modern life Chapter 4: Les Mots retrouves i. Un englische; un English ii. Du pur vocabulaire iii. Qu'est-ce que l'Anglais? iv. Etymology and deformation v. Un arriviste digne de louange Appendix: The location of English words and phrases in A la recherche du temps perdu

Daniel Karlin , Graduate Director for the School of English, University of Sheffield

`Review from previous edition As Professor Karlin reminds us, Proust offers a warning purists of any language, including Irish, would do well to heed.' Robert O'Byrne, The Irish Times