In Le Temps retrouvé, the Proustian Narrator describes the discouraging experience of one's work being misunderstood: ‘Before very long I was able to show them a few sketches. No one understood anything of them . . . Those passages in which I was trying to arrive at general laws were described as so much pedantic detail’ (6: 442; IV, 618). This experience haunts not only the fictional Narrator, but also his creator up until his death, which is why Proust took such an interest in his public and, as his correspondence shows, often responded to his reviewers. These letters constitute an active participation in critical debates and this is, as has recently been remarked, one of the reasons for separating the history of the reception of Proust's œuvre before and after his death. While Proust was always supported by a number of influential friends, a cursory overview of the early reception of his work shows that long before he was an author of established fame, Proust had to cope with being read as an unserious and superficial writer. His readership increased with the publication of each volume of the Recherche and led critics increasingly to focus on the literary value of his work. But Proust's reception during his lifetime is always set against the backdrop of often-hostile criticism, frequently based on the myth of the sickly, reclusive snob writing from the safety of his cork-lined room.