Who is Marcel Proust from How Proust Can Change Your Life ; Not a Novel and what is their importance?

Marcel Proust was a writer and man of letters in early 20th century France. Author De Botton uses Proust's biography and philosophy to develop a methodology on how to live better. Proust himself was a fairly miserable man throughout much of his life. He was only attracted to writing and literature and various other occupations ended in failure. He was initially viewed as a "hanger-on," mooching off of his family's fortune in order to hobnob with aristocrats and attend parties.