In The Guermantes Way, Part 1, the third volume of Marcel Proust's monumental, seven volume Remembrance of Things Past, Marcel penetrates the inner sanctum of Paris high society and falls in love with the fascinating Duchesse de Guermantes. With his unmatched powers of observation Proust vividly describes the struggles for political, social, and sexual supremacy played out beneath a veneer of elegant manners.
The third novel in Annie Murray's "Birmingham" series. While Genie's father is away fighting in World War II, her mother has a ruinous affair which leaves her pregnant; Genie's little brother leaves, never to return; while Genie herself meets a man who then disappears to war.