Abstract N-α-Hydroxyalkylamides 6a, b, readily available from L-tartrate, with trichloroacetonitrile furnish O-(2-oxopyrrolidin-5-yl) trichloroacetimidates 3a, b. α-Amido- alkylation studies of 3a, b with allyl-trimethylsilane and electron-rich benzene derivatives as C-nucleophiles afforded 5-allyl-and 5-aryl-2-pyrrolidinones 2a, b, 7a, b, and 8− 10. The target compound (+)-1 and its epimer 15 were readily obtained from 1, 5-diallyl-2- ...