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Celeste Albaret was the housekeeper to the French author, Marcel Proust, at his famous resience at 102 Boulevard Haussmanm from XXXX to XXXX.Although Albaret had limited education. she became indispensible to Proust in the last decade of his life and largely responsible for organization of his manuscripts.

Proust spent his youth social climbing and becoming an intimate of the aristocrats and salon figures of the Faubourg St. Germaine, the Paris district in which this social circle congregated. Athe age of 35, he retired to his cork-lined bedroom in the Boulevard Haussman flat, where he wrote the first six volumes of his magnum opus. As he withdrew into his work, he also distanced his circle of friends, and spoke to virtually no one, except Alabaret.

Her employer's eccentric habits demanded that Albaret live in virtual silence and readiness. Proust kept highly irregular hours, and it was Albaret's task to be constantly ready to respond to his bell and deliver coffee. She left the house only to run his errands, and was frequently called to his room to converse. Proust relied upon her to keep all other people, including friends, from interrupting his solitude.

Proust was a neuraesthenic, and frequently pleaded ill health to avoid social contacts. When a phone was installed in the Boulevard Haussman apartment-- so he could listen to the Opera performances via phone-- Albaret fended off callers. She became a superb mimic, convincing callers that they were speaking with Proust himself.

Perhaps her most important function was assisting with the editing of Proust's final manuscripts. When publishers retunred galleys, Proust wrote extensive additions and re-writes; these were given to Albaret, who cut and pasted changes into a final draft.Albaret called the edited sections his "paperies."

Allbaret remained with Proust until his death on November 18, 1922. Afrter his death, she purchased a hotel, which she operated until XXXXX. She wrote a book about her years with her remarkable employer, "Monsieur Proust."

Three feature films have been made about Proust, but two of these films are devoted not to htre author himself, but to Celeste Albaret, "Celseste" and "102 Boulevard Haussman."