Episodios

  • Episode 9: Moonlight Sonatas
    Sep 7 2025

    Join your literary tour guide and host Dr James Holden for Episode 9 of Proustian Paths, in which we continue our gentle walk through Marcel Proust's masterpiece of French literature - A la recherche du temps perdu (In Search of Lost Time).

    Today, we travel further through Swann’s Way. We discover how Charles Swann is excluded from the Verdurin salon. Love and jealousy abound as he storms home through the Paris night alone with the promise of other love affairs and piano music hanging in the evening air.

    In this episode we will discuss:

    • Swann’s exclusion from the Verdurin salon
    • A performance of Beethoven’s Moonlight Sonata for piano, played in the dark
    • The mutability of social truths

    Proustian Paths is the perfect podcast for both first time readers of Proust's novel and dedicated Proustians alike. It is ‘a brilliant invitation into the world of Proust and the insights his work offers’.

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    14 m
  • Channel Update - New Episodes and New Ways to Engage
    Jul 13 2025

    Well, it's been a while! But the Proustian Paths podcast is returning, and there are exciting new ways to engage with the show.

    This short Channel Update episode tells you everything you need to know about the show's latest developments, including how to get even more classic literature discussion direct to your inbox via the Proustian Paths Substack newsletter.

    Subscribe to Proustian Paths on Substack FOR FREE by clicking here to become part of the show's welcoming community of readers and listeners, and take part in subscriber chat.

    So, dust off your literary walking boots as we prepare to set out once again on our guided walk through Marcel Proust's classic novel, In Search of Lost Time.

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    3 m
  • Episode 8: Swann and Forcheville
    Jun 14 2022

    Love quickly turns to jealousy along Swann's Way. In this episode of the Proustian Paths podcast we return to the Verdurin salon in Paris on the evening Odette introduces Forcheville to the little clan. He establishes himself there as a rival for Odette's love, sparking Swann's jealousy which we see played out as we follow the paths that take him to Odette's window late at night.

    Join audio tour guide Dr. James Holden on the next leg of our gentle walk through this important work of French literature, Marcel Proust's classic novel A la recherche du temps perdu.

    This episode will provide you with:

    * a clear 'map' of the sequence - focusing on the social scene and the two 'window' scenes that are the beginning of Swann's jealousy.

    * a discussion of the important physical, social and conceptual 'landmarks' Proust places in the passage.

    * an opportunity to take in the literary-critical view.

    Proustian Paths is the perfect introduction to Marcel Proust's work for new readers and a way for dedicated Proustians to get a new view on the book they love.

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    17 m
  • Episode 7: Swann and Odette
    Mar 24 2022

    Today's steps along the paths through Marcel Proust's classic novel In Search of Lost Time find us heading out into the streets of Paris and following Charles Swann as he searches for Odette. This episode traces Swann's emotional and physical journey, and the relationship that then develops between the couple.

    Listening to Episode 7 of the Proustian Paths podcast will give you:

    • a 'map' of this section of Proust's narrative (pp. 229 - 253 of the edition published by Penguin).
    • a list of the physical and conceptual 'landmarks' needed to navigate this passage.
    • a discussion of the literary-critical view.

    Join your audio tour guide and host Dr James Holden as we continue our gentle walk through Marcel Proust's masterpiece of French literature - A la recherche du temps perdu. The perfect podcast for both first time readers of Proust's work and dedicated Proustians alike.

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    16 m
  • Channel Update
    Mar 9 2022

    It's time for a quick channel update! Discover what’s been happening here at the Proustian Paths podcast since our last episode and find out what's coming up on the channel. It’s true that I’ve taken a long detour before being able to come back to the paths through Marcel Proust's classic novel In Search of Lost Time, but I’m now back to guide us on our slow reading journey together.

    So dust off your literary walking boots and listen to this update and you'll be ready for upcoming new episodes as we continue our gentle walk through Proust's masterpiece of French literature - A la recherche du temps perdu.

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    5 m
  • Episode 6: Swann in Love
    Oct 3 2021

    Charles Swann is in love. In this episode, our path through Marcel Proust's classic novel In Search of Lost Time follows the paths that the character Charles Swann himself takes as he circles from his home to the Verdurin salon, and from there to Odette's house at the beginning of their grand love affair.

    Join audio tour guide Dr. James Holden on the next leg of our gentle walk through this important work of French literature, Marcel Proust's classic novel A la recherche du temps perdu.

    This episode will provide you with:

    * a clear 'map' of the sequence so that you can understand the structure of these social scenes.

    * a discussion of the important physical, social and conceptual 'landmarks' Proust himself places in the passage.

    * an opportunity to take in the literary-critical view.

    Proustian Paths is the perfect introduction to Marcel Proust's work for new readers and a way for dedicated Proustians to get a new view on the book they love.

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    19 m
  • Shortcut: Vinteuil
    Aug 27 2021

    Vinteuil's music is one of the central artistic reference points in Marcel Proust's classic novel In Search of Lost Time. But who is Vinteuil?

    In this episode of Proustian Shortcuts from Proustian Paths, host Dr. James Holden provides you with a very quick shortcut to understanding this character's place in Proust's work A la recherche du temps perdu, helping you get ahead on your own journey through this masterpiece of French literature.

    In this episode you will:

    * Discover Vinteuil’s life in Combray.

    * Learn about Vinteuil’s life as a composer and his feelings towards his own works.

    * Discover Vinteuil’s two most important pieces of music, his Sonata for violin and piano and his Septet, and learn about their importance for both Proust’s Narrator and also Charles Swann in his relationship with Odette.

    * Hear about the afterlife of Vinteuil’s music and the creation of his artistic legacy.

    Save time in your reading and comprehension of the classic work In Search of Lost Time, and listen to this 3 minute episode today.

    ***Contains plot SPOILERS for the entirety of Proust's In Search of Lost Time.***

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    4 m
  • Shortcut: The Little Clan
    Aug 20 2021

    Who are 'the Little Clan'? Find out in the first episode of 'Proustian Shortcuts', the new series from Proustian Paths that provides you with quick shortcuts to an understanding of the key characters and concepts in Marcel Proust's classic novel, In Search of Lost Time.

    In this episode you will:

    * Discover the members of the little clan, the faithful of the Verdurin salon, and how the group changes over time and through the course of the novel.

    * Learn about the group’s social status and their relationship with the fashionable aristocratic society of Paris.

    * Hear how the clan provide some of the key artistic reference points in the novel.

    So join host Dr James Holden and find your own way through Proust’s text - A la recherche du temps perdu. Save time in your reading and comprehension of the classic work In Search of Lost Time today, and listen to this 3 minute episode.

    ***Contains plot SPOILERS for the entirety of Proust's In Search of Lost Time.***

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    4 m