Translations:CP 02844/56/en
- ↑ Proust is probably alluding here to the writings of Maurice Barrès about Lorraine and the Alsace, and more particularly to his novel "Les Bastions de l'Est. Au servive de l'Allemagne" (The Eastern Bastions. In the service of Germany) (Paris, Fayard, 1905, republished several times), in which the three central chapters (chapters V, VI, VII) and the conclusion extol Mont Sainte-Odile, its monastery and its history, Odile being the patron saint of the Alsace. In a letter of congratulation to Barrès for his election to the Académie française in February 1906, Proust mentioned it in eulogistic terms ("one of the most beautiful books"), and added: "If my health permits I would like to make a pilgrimage to Sainte-Odile [...]." (CP 01361; Kolb, VI, no. 12). [CSz]