Sodom and Gomorrah

First published in French in 1921 and 1922, “Sodom and Gomorrah” is the fourth volume in Marcel Proust’s “In Search of Lost Time” or “Remembrance of Things Past” cycle of novels. The novel begins with a continuation of the previous volume, “The Guermantes Way”, where we find the narrator socializing in the high society world of the Princess de Guermantes. Later the narrator opts for a change of social scene when he travels to the seaside town of Balbec where he socializes with the Verdurins, a livelier yet somewhat lower class set, compared to his previous companions. On full display in the novel is the narrator’s ever tempestuous relationship with his lover Albertine, as well as the constant contrast of public and private lives of the members of high society, as the novel begins to tackle the themes of homosexuality and the Jewish question. Taken together, the novels of the “In Search of Lost Time” cycle present a fascinating portrait of early 20th century France and continue to stand as one of the most epic examples of modernist prose. This edition follows the translation of C. K. Scott Moncrieff.