4: A Night at the Majestic

By Richard Davenport-Hines.

Hello, I just want to start by saying I buy a lot of the books I read second-hand, and I will genuinely read anything that’s specific to the genre I have chosen for that year. When I owned this book, it was a hard back copy. The book had a very intriguing Front Cover, as the picture was of men that were sitting around a table in dinner suits. I think one of the mens head in the cover picture was replaced by a horses head; but I could be wrong. They were obviously from another time in history, my guess was early 20th century when that type of dress was fashionable. After reading the book, and discovering that it was an Autobiography (although vague in parts,) of Proust, who was a famous Author in France at the turn of the 1900’s, meaning turn of the 20th century. I discovered I was right. Although I say vaguely, because it can be a bit difficult to follow in the beginning as so many celebrities and celebrity writers are named from that era.  However I knew that to read this book would be a bit like taking a time machine, backwards in history… The author, Richard Davenport-Hines drew detailed connections between both the writers and celebrities from theatre, around that time. Russian Theatre was popular back then, but the name of the Russian Choreographers and Dancers, that the Author alluded to escapes me. Although, my note says;  “the book follows Diagelve and Stavensky, an Author and a Composer…” I also remember in one of the earlier to middling chapters, connections being drawn between Andy Warhole and even Arnold Schwarzenegger. But thinking about it, that must have been a tenuous link, as the book in-no way dwells in that era. However all these artists and writers, all knew each other or were able to demonstrate a connection in some way, that revolved around one particular Author whose name was “Proust.” The book has a wide ranging dialect, that also betrayed the time of its writing by the use of words such as “Opprobrium” or the French sounding, “Embourgeoise”. These were among the words I had never heard before, and seemed to come from a time before I began to read and write, where words had perhaps a more eccentric and lavish way of expression. The book delves into Proust's experiences, both before World War One and during that War ( he avoided conscription, perhaps due to health, age or social position,) of his life, of his writing, of his relationship with his mother, of his health, and his own sexuality, of his time spent engaged in pederasty. Ultimately, “Prowst,” although artistically talented struggles with relationships. However the good deeds he does, like when he takes-on a driver who is need of a job, because he knocks on the door to his stately; like home, and asks for the job. Or the Friendships he makes and embraces, but is also at odds with because of the Fan Driven nature of their striving to be with him, because of him being a Famous Author, shine through… However in-spite of the haunting nature of Prowst’s own shortcomings and the way they are depicted in the book, there where one or two intuitive insights of character that he had, that will stay with me forever more, having read the book.