Swann in Love is a compelling story of love, obsession and jealousy. Excerpted from Marcel Proust’s famous work In Search of Lost Time, this is the perfect entry point to a cornerstone of French literature.

Charles Swann is a man about town with friends in high places. At a Parisian society gathering, he meets the intriguing Odette de Crécy, and his feelings for her rapidly deepen. As their circle expands, he is overcome by doubts and unhealthy jealousies. Odette distances herself, and Swann is convinced he has a rival for her affections. Behaving erratically and tortured by spiralling thoughts, Swann’s love becomes a sickly poison.

This edition of Swann in Love is translated by C. K. Scott Moncrieff with an introduction by academic Marion Schmid. Part of the Macmillan Collector’s Library: a series of stunning, cloth-bound, pocket-sized classics with gold foiled edges and ribbon markers. These beautiful books make perfect gifts or a treat for any book lover.

Born in Paris in 1871, Marcel Proust is widely regarded as one of the twentieth century’s most influential authors. His life’s work, the novel In Search of Lost Time, was published in seven volumes between 1913 and 1927. Although he lived out his last years in almost complete isolation, writing by night and resting by day, as a younger man Proust was a well-connected socialite, moving in the very circles depicted in his writings. His refined and introspective prose explores the power and limitations of memory and emotion. Despite having to finance the first volume of In Search of Lost Time himself, Proust left an indelible mark on world literature. He died in 1922.