Swann's Way

On the 100th anniversary of its original publication, Yale University Press introduces a landmark new edition of Proust’s masterpiece—impeccably revised and annotated by the foremost Proust scholar of our time

One hundred years have passed since Marcel Proust published the first volume of what was to become a seven-volume masterpiece, In Search of Lost Time. In the intervening century his famously compelling novel has never been out of print and has been translated into dozens of languages. English-language readers were fortunate to have an early and extraordinarily fine translation of the novel from Charles Kenneth Scott Moncrieff. With the passage of time, however, the need for corrections, revisions, and annotations to the Scott Montcrieff translation has become apparent.

Esteemed Proust scholar William C. Carter celebrates the publication centennial of Swann’s Way with a new, more accurate and illuminating edition of the first volume of In Search of Lost Time. Carter corrects previous translating missteps to bring readers closer to Proust’s intentions while also providing enlightening notes to clarify biographical, historical, and social contexts. Presented in a reader-friendly format alongside the text, these annotations will enrich and deepen the experience of Proust’s novel, immersing readers in the world of an unsurpassed literary genius.

William C. Carter is University Distinguished Professor Emeritus, University of Alabama at Birmingham. Referred to as “Proust’s definitive biographer” by Harold Bloom, Carter is the author of landmark biographical works on Proust. He is currently at work on subsequent volumes of the Yale annotated edition of In Seach of Lost Time, to be published annually in coming years. He lives in Birmingham, AL.

“For William C. Carter, the dean of American Proust studies, to agree to do a new edition of the Scott Moncrieff translation of Swann’s Way is a coup for readers. . . . Carter’s very readable revision is wisely and discreetly annotated, and it offers as accurate a translation as possible. It is also an unmitigated delight to read.”—Allan H. Pasco, Hall Distinguished Professor, University of Kansas

“No one has grasped the interplay of Proust’s life and work better than William Carter. He has now applied that knowledge to the iconic but flawed translation of In Search of Lost Time by Charles Kenneth Scott Moncrieff, correcting Scott Moncrieff’s faults—his outright errors and his idiosyncratic Victorianisms—and providing essential notes to Proust’s many cultural references. The result is a volume of enormous use to both first time readers and those who are returning to Proust for further understanding and pleasure.”—Harold Augenbraum, Editor, Collected Poems of Marcel Proust

Timed to the 100th anniversary of the original Nov. 14, 1913 publication of Swann’s Way

Events: William C. Carter will speak on Proust at the Boston Athenaeum (Boston. MA, Nov. 12, 2013), Providence Athenaeum (Providence, RI, Nov. 14, 2013), 92nd Street Y Poetry Center (New York, Nov. 17, 2013), and the international conference at Exeter celebrating the centenary of Swann’s Way (University of Exeter, UK, Dec. 16-18, 2013).

William C. Carter is available for interview