In the Shadow of Young Girls in Flower

In the Shadow of Young Girls in Flower is a novel by Marcel Proust, published in 1919 and the second of the seven volumes that make up In Search of Lost Time. It focuses on the narrator's first loves and is set in Balbec, an imaginary seaside resort inspired by Cabourg.

In the first part, the narrator meets M. de Norpois, an influential friend of his father who encourages him toward a literary career while criticizing his writing style. Thanks to his intervention, the narrator persuades his family to let him go to the theatre to see the actress Berma, whom he admires.

At Balbec, the narrator feels like an outsider at first, until he and his grandmother are introduced to the Marquise de Villeparisis. Through her they meet her nephew Robert de Saint-Loup, an aristocrat with left-wing views who becomes the narrator's close friend, as well as Bloch, an old Jewish schoolmate, and the eccentric Baron de Charlus. The story gathers intensity when the narrator first sees a group of five young girls walking along the beach and becomes obsessed with meeting them. Through the painter Elstir he gets to know them and soon becomes part of their circle. At first he falls in love with all of them equally, but his affection eventually settles on Albertine, whom he tries to win over, without success at first.