Today’s Quote Of The Day is from the french novelist Valentin Louis Georges Eugène Marcel Proust, better known as Marcel Proust (July 10, 1871 – November 18, 1922), who wrote the massive seven volume novel À la recherche du temps perdu (In Search of Lost Time), based on his life and published between 1913-1927. It is considered by many to be one of the great novels of all time.

In February of 1897 Marcel was accused of being a homosexual by the openly gay literary critic Jean Lorrain, (which he was apparently, but that’s beside the point). Proust demanded satisfaction for the accusation and challenged Lorrain to a duel with pistols at 25 paces. Both dandys’ shots missed each other completely and Proust’s honor was apparently restored as a result, proving once and for all….I’m not sure what really.

Proust spent the last three years of his life mostly confined to his bedroom, sleeping during the day and working at night to complete his novel until he died of pneumonia and a pulmonary abscess. He died before he was able to complete his revisions of the final volumes, the last three of which were published posthumously and edited by his brother, Robert.

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