Jerry Herman: Poet of the Showtune (Hardcover) (ISBN-13: 9780300100822)

The memoirs of Ernest Forssgren (1894-1970), the young Swede who served as Marcel Proust's last valet, provide new insights into Proust's life and death. Previously, Forssgren's memoir has been published only in excerpts, in French, with serious omissions and alterations.
This book presents the complete text of the memoir, with an introduction and helpful annotations by the distinguished Proust scholar William C. Carter. Also included here is other new material: the inscriptions that Proust wrote for Forssgren's copy of "Swann's Way;" an important telegram that Proust sent Forssgren, which defines with greater precision the novelist's activities in the final months of his life; Forssgren's "Summary" of the first English biography of Proust, by George D. Painter, which provides many new details about Proust's last trip to Cabourg in 1914 and his attempts at seducing young men of the servant class; and the notes that Forssgren made in his copy of Painter's biography.

Author: Stephen Citron
ISBN-10: 0300100825
ISBN-13: 9780300100822
Publisher: Yale University Press
Language: English
Published: 06/01/2006
Pages: 352
Format: Hardcover
Weight: 1.36lbs
Size: 9.42h x 6.48w x 1.07d

Review Citation(s):
Univ PR Books for Public Libry 01/01/2005 pg. 64 - Strongly Recommended
Library Journal 09/15/2004 pg. 58
Booklist 09/15/2004 pg. 190