Pleasures and Days

work by Proust

Also known as: “Les Plaisirs et les jours”

Written by

The Information Architects of Encyclopaedia Britannica

Last updated

July 1, 2026

Quick Summary

Pleasures and Days (Les Plaisirs et les jours) is a collection of short stories by Marcel Proust, published in 1896. It was one of his earlier works, preceding his monumental novel, In Search of Lost Time. The stories in this collection are described as both precious and profound.1

Proust's most famous work, In Search of Lost Time, is a seven-part novel published between 1913 and 1927. It is considered a masterpiece of modern fiction and holds the Guinness World Record for the longest novel, with over 1.3 million words. The novel is an allegorical search for truth, drawing heavily on Proust's own life and experiences, including the famous involuntary memory triggered by tasting a madeleine cake dipped in tea.21

Summary created from Britannica articles using AI. AI can make mistakes, so verify using Britannica articles.

2 Britannica Sources

Ask Britannica AI about this topic

Britannica doesn't have a full article on this topic, so we've curated a list of our relevant coverage.

Marcel Proust
Works: short stories, essays, novels, and letters
…Plaisirs et les jours (Pleasures and Days), a collection of short stories at once precious and profound, most of which had appeared during 1892–93 in the magazines Le Banquet and La Revue Blanche. From 1895 to 1899 he wrote Jean Santeuil, an autobiographical novel that, though unfinished and ill-constructed,…
Read More
…Plaisirs et les jours (Pleasures and Days), a collection of short stories at once precious and profound, most of which had appeared during 1892–93 in the magazines Le Banquet and La Revue Blanche. From 1895 to 1899 he wrote Jean Santeuil, an autobiographical novel that, though unfinished and ill-constructed,…
Read More