Which famous novel was rejected by a number of publishers, so eventually its author had to pay the cost for publication himself?
In Search of Lost Time (Proust)
The Name of the Rose (Eco)
André Gide was famously given the manuscript to read to advise on publication and rejected it. In early 1914, he wrote to Proust to apologize "The rejection of this book will remain one of the most stinging and remorseful regrets of my life".