When Edmund Wilson suggests that she translate Proust's letters, Mina Curtiss sets off for Paris with "Ma's sables," her typewriter, charcoal briquettes to keep herself warm (in postwar 1947), a case of bourbon and letters of introduction from people like May Sarton and Harold Nicolson to people like George Balanchine and Julian Huxley. We are with her every step of the way as she makes the Proustian world come to life again, from the aristocratic salons of the Faubourg Saint-Germain to her poignant meetings with Celeste Albaret, Proust's legendary housekeeper and companion.|

<p>Born in 1896, Mina Curtiss is an exemplary modern-day heroine. Blessed with brains, money and an acute sense of humor, she was also intrepid, savvy, sensitive and the star of her very own thriller.</p>

<p>When Edmund Wilson suggests that she translate Proust&rsquo;s letters, she sets off for Paris with &ldquo;<em>Ma&rsquo;s sables</em>,&rdquo; her typewriter, charcoal briquettes to keep herself warm (in postwar 1947), a case of bourbon and letters of introduction from people like May Sarton and Harold Nicolson to people like George Balanchine and Julian Huxley.</p>

<p>We are with her every step of the way as she makes the Proustian world come to life again, from the aristocratic salons of the Faubourg Saint-Germain to her poignant meetings with Celeste Albaret, Proust&rsquo;s legendary housekeeper and companion.</p>