In Search Of Lost Time: The Guermantes Way (In Search Of Lost Time 3) is the 3rd of the 7 volumes in the In Search Of Lost Time series. The series is based on the phenomenon of involuntary memory and how the narrator recollects such memories during his life. In this volume, the narrator and his family have moved into an apartment which is adjacent to the Guermantes residence. Intrigued by the Guermantes and their social activities, the narrator begins stalking Mme de Guermantes. He visits his nephew, Saint-Loup and an acquaintance of Mme de Guermantes so that he can be introduced to her. But, he is immediately called back home due to his grandmother’s worsening health. With Mme de Guermantes still refusing to invite him, the narrator visits the salon of Mme de Villeparisis, where he sees Mme de Guermantes.
Months go by and the narrator, who has forgotten about Mme de Guermantes, is convinced by Saint-Loup to ask out the daughter of Stermaria. On one of his visits to Mme de Villeparisis, the narrator meets Mme de Guermantes. Meanwhile, Mme de Stermaria cancels their date and the narrator has to be rescued from despair by Saint-Loup. Saint-Loup takes him to dine out with some of his aristocratic friends, where he discovers the legends behind the Guermantes. He becomes even more determined to meet them and must now figure out how he will manage to.
The 3rd edition of In Search Of Lost Time: The Guermantes Way (In Search Of Lost Time 3), published by Penguin UK in 2003, is available as a paperback.