Those who think of Marcel Proust's cork-paneled room or his asthma may be surprised by the wealth of flowers and plants in his work: the pink-blooming hawthorn and lilacs on the way to Guermantes, roses in the studio of the painter Elstir, cornflowers, apple blossoms, and water lilies on the stream Vivonne. Even when it comes to erotic and sexual themes, the "botanist of the psychic world" prefers to speak metaphorically: for example, "playing Cattleya" is a cipher for the act of love for Swann and Odette. In this volume, Ursula Voss gathers the most beautiful and suggestive passages from "In Search of Lost Time" and complements them with atmospheric flower paintings from the era.