Proust's A la recherche du temps perdu is an imaginative achievement without parallel in the twentieth century. Any critic who sets out to discuss the book in the full variety of its concerns will find that his own powers of insight and judgement are relentlessly put to the test. John Cocking is one of the few critics who have taken up this challenge with outstanding success and have tackled all the major Proustian issues in a consistently illuminating way. When first published in the fifties, his critical monograph on Proust soon established itself as one of the finest introductions to its subject available in either English or French. The aim of the present collection is to bring together all Professor Cocking's main writings on Proust in a single volume. His powers of detailed observation and his alert analytic intelligence make him a first-rate guide to the complexities and the sheer surprisingness of Proust's novel. This book offers both an introduction that is fully accessible to the newcomer and a series of original judgements that will provide stimulus and excitement for the specialist.
