The Memoirs of Ernest A. Forssgren: Proust's Swedish Valet
Forssgren was briefly in Proust's employ as a valet at a crucial time, helping Proust leave Paris for Normandy in 1914 as the war escalated. Most well-off Parisians were fleeing the city, and most young men were in uniform, but Forssgren was Swedish, hence safe from military induction. After accompanying Proust to Cabourg, where Forssgren claims to have been quite the war hero, the valet emigrated to America. Proust biographer Carter, here serving as editor, was thrilled to be given the manuscript for Forssgren's brazenly self-aggrandizing memoir. Written in haste in 1965 after an earlier biography revealed Proust's homosexuality, Forssgren's account expresses shock and anger at this disclosure, a curious stance since Forssgren himself was homosexual. Carter's footnotes are hilarious: "This is nonsense, of course"; "This is simply laughable." Hyperbole aside, Forssgren's tale opens a window onto Proust's life and times, providing another piece in the biographical mosaic.Donna SeamanCopyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved