Illiers-Combray
Encyclopedia
Illiers-Combray is a commune
in the Eure-et-Loir
department in north central France
.
's name for the market town of Illiers, of which the vivid recreation opens his vast semi-autobiographical novel In Search of Lost Time
. Recent Proust scholarship, however, has argued that Proust's descriptions of Combray owe as much to his uncle's home in Auteuil
as to Illiers.
In commemoration of his literary achievement, the commune has officially changed its name to Illiers-Combray.
Communes of France
The commune is the lowest level of administrative division in the French Republic. French communes are roughly equivalent to incorporated municipalities or villages in the United States or Gemeinden in Germany...
in the Eure-et-Loir
Eure-et-Loir
Eure-et-Loir is a French department, named after the Eure and Loir rivers.-History:Eure-et-Loir is one of the original 83 departments created during the French Revolution on March 4, 1790 pursuant to the Act of December 22, 1789...
department in north central France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
.
Population
Literature
Combray was Marcel ProustMarcel Proust
Valentin Louis Georges Eugène Marcel Proust was a French novelist, critic, and essayist best known for his monumental À la recherche du temps perdu...
's name for the market town of Illiers, of which the vivid recreation opens his vast semi-autobiographical novel In Search of Lost Time
In Search of Lost Time
In Search of Lost Time or Remembrance of Things Past is a novel in seven volumes by Marcel Proust. His most prominent work, it is popularly known for its considerable length and the notion of involuntary memory, the most famous example being the "episode of the madeleine." The novel is widely...
. Recent Proust scholarship, however, has argued that Proust's descriptions of Combray owe as much to his uncle's home in Auteuil
Auteuil-Neuilly-Passy
Auteuil and Passy are part of the 16th arrondissement of Paris. They are located near the Bois de Boulogne and the suburb of Neuilly-sur-Seine too....
as to Illiers.
In commemoration of his literary achievement, the commune has officially changed its name to Illiers-Combray.