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Hello and thank you for downloading the podcast of Witness History from the BBC World Service

with me Simon Watts.

This year France is marking the centenary of the death of Marcel Proust, the author of the great novel

Remembrance of things past. In 2013 I brought together archive recordings of people who knew Proost.

It's the late 19th century and Paris is in the middle of the Bellepock, the beautiful era in which the city seemed the center of the cultural world.

On one glittering occasion, Prince Antoine Bibescu, a young Romanian aristocrat, is introduced to Marcel Proust.

My mother was the soul of hospitality used to give musical sirets.

One evening, a young man came to one of these parties.

He was about 30.

His hair was a little too brown,

and his eyes were like Japanese lacquer. We were introduced. I gave him my hand but he hardly touched it. It was a habit. In later years I frequently teased him about it.

I hate a limp handshake, but Marcel defended himself.

If I put more energy into my handshake,

people will think that I feel a non-existent sympathy.

The limp handshake and Marcel Proust's explanation for it were typical of his snobbery.

He was a rich socialite who wanted to be accepted in the greatest salons in Paris.

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