The small country town, originally called Illiers, about forty kilometers from Chartres, was transformed by the childhood memories of Proust, who glorified it in his work In Search of Lost Time under the name of Combray. Combray is the beginning, the introduction to the rest of the volumes that make up In Search of Lost Time, and it is essential reading for all lovers of literature.

The small country town, originally called Illiers, about forty kilometers from Chartres, was transformed by the childhood memories of Proust, who glorified it in his work In Search of Lost Time under the name of Combray. Combray is the beginning, the introduction to the rest of the volumes that make up In Search of Lost Time, and it is essential reading for all lovers of literature.