Kilmartin wrote a highly amusing and illuminating account of his experience as a Proust revisionist, which appeared in the first issue of Ben Sonnenberg's quarterly in the autumn of 1981. The essay opened with a kind of encouragement: 'There used to be a story that discerning Frenchmen preferred to read Marcel Proust in English on the grounds that the prose of was deeply un-French and heavily influenced by English writers such as Ruskin.' I cling to this even though Kilmartin thought it to be ridiculous Parisian snobbery; I shall never be able to read Proust in French, and one's opportunities for outfacing Gallic self-regard are relatively scarce.

Summary

In this quote, the speaker shares their perspective on reading Marcel Proust's works in English rather than in French. The quote stems from an essay by Kilmartin, who humorously and informatively described his experience as a Proust revisionist. The quote begins with the belief that discerning French readers actually preferred to read Proust in English because they considered his prose to be uncharacteristically French and heavily influenced by English writers like Ruskin. Despite Kilmartin dismissing this belief as ridiculous snobbery, the speaker remains attached to it as it allows them to continue reading Proust in English - an opportunity to defy French elitism that doesn't arise often.

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