Sodom and Gomorrah

In November 1913, the first volume of Marcel Proust's novel "Swann's Way" was published. The publication became possible thanks to the efforts of friends of the unknown writer, as the complex, autobiographical work initially did not inspire enthusiasm among publishers, and later among critics and readers. At that time, it was unlikely anyone could have predicted that the cycle "In Search of Lost Time," of which "Swann's Way" would become the first book, would eventually be considered one of the most significant works of world literature of the 20th century. Each novel in the cycle is dedicated to a particular stage of life: "Swann's Way" tells of the childhood of the main character and the events preceding his birth; "In the Shadow of Young Girls in Flower" — about his adolescence, the collapse of his first love, and the birth of a new one; "The Guermantes Way" — about his youth. "Sodom and Gomorrah" (the last of the novels in the cycle published during the author's lifetime) inherits the themes and plot of "The Guermantes Way": it continues the story of the young hero's social successes. There is also the theme of love and the hero's relationship with Albertine, referencing the book "In the Shadow of Young Girls in Flower." The fourth novel in the cycle "In Search of Lost Time" follows the previous three and is presented to the reader in a translation by Elena Baevskaya, which refutes the sadly entrenched opinion that Proust is a venerable, intellectual, but boring author.