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The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
Entertainment
Kim Willsher in Paris

The French rose from Manchester: in search of Proust’s forgotten muse

Detail from a portrait in pastels of Marie Nordlinger by Federico de Madrazo.
Detail from a portrait in pastels of Marie Nordlinger by Federico de Madrazo. Photograph: Federico de Madrazo

In December 1896, Marcel Proust was introduced to a captivating young Englishwoman in Paris.

Marie Nordlinger was 20 – five years younger than the author, who nicknamed her the “French rose from Manchester” – and would become his confidante and muse for the next decade as he wrote his finest work.

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