Founded in 1947 · Recognised as a public-interest association
The Society
Amis de Marcel Proust et des Amis de Combray
Our mission
The Société des Amis de Marcel Proust et des Amis de Combray brings together all those, in France and abroad, for whom the work and life of Marcel Proust are a passion.
Its mission is twofold: to further the diffusion and understanding of Proust's work, and to oversee the Maison de Tante Léonie in Illiers-Combray, the house that inspired Proust's Combray in In Search of Lost Time.
To this end, the Society publishes the Bulletin Marcel Proust each year, organises literary and cultural events, awards prizes and competitions, and keeps alive the writer's memory in the places that were dear to him.
1947
Year
founded
1955
Public-interest
status
75+
Bulletins
published
700+
Active
members
Our activities
Since 1950
The Bulletin Marcel Proust
The reference annual journal, bringing together articles by scholars and researchers from around the world, bibliographical notes, and previously unpublished documents.
Annual competition
Pastiche competition
Open to all, this literary competition invites participants to try their hand at the art of Proustian pastiche. Two categories — general and under-25 — are awarded each year at a ceremony.
Illiers-Combray · Every spring
The Journée des aubépines
The annual gathering of members in Illiers-Combray — readings, guided walks, lectures — bringing Proust's Combray to life in the places that inspired it.
Throughout the year
Lectures & meetings
Meetings with writers, readings from Proust's correspondence, lectures by scholars and specialists — in Paris and in Proustian places — throughout the year.
History
Foundation
Philibert-Louis Larcher, Inspecteur Général of the Ministry of Education, founds the Society. A tireless host, he welcomes visitors from around the world to the Maison de Tante Léonie on a voluntary basis for decades, conjuring Illiers's Combray through anecdote and quotation.
Birth of the museum
Germaine Amiot, Proust's cousin and the daughter of his aunt Élisabeth, buys the family house and converts it into a museum with the help of Philibert-Louis Larcher. Renamed the "Maison de Tante Léonie", it is listed as a historic monument from 1961 and opened to the public from 1972.
Public-interest recognition
By decree of 9 September 1955, the Society is recognised as a public-interest association, cementing its role in French cultural and literary life.
Illiers becomes Illiers-Combray
One of M. Larcher's principal causes was finally won in 1971. The new mayor of Illiers, René Compère, had his municipal council vote on 29 June 1970 to associate the name of Combray with that of the town, then submitted the formal request to the State. By a decree of 29 March 1971, signed by the Minister of the Interior Raymond Marcellin, Illiers officially became Illiers-Combray, in homage to Proust's genius and to mark the centenary of his birth.
Succession
Philibert-Louis Larcher died in December 1972. René Compère, the first mayor of Illiers-Combray, succeeded him as guide of the Maison de Tante Léonie for almost twenty years, perpetuating the tradition of welcome the founder had established — guiding, among others, François Mitterrand and Marguerite Yourcenar.
Gift to the Society
Shortly before her death, Germaine Amiot gave the Maison de Tante Léonie to the Société des Amis de Marcel Proust et des Amis de Combray, which has owned it, and overseen its management and conservation, ever since.
Commemorative plaque at 102 boulevard Haussmann
On 17 September 1985, a commemorative plaque is unveiled on the building at 102 boulevard Haussmann, Marcel Proust's former residence. The president of the Society, Maurice Schumann, gives the address.
Tribute to Philip Kolb
The Bulletin Marcel Proust devotes its issue to the memory of Philip Kolb, the reference editor of Proust's Correspondance, who died the previous year and is regarded as one of the great scholars of Proust's work.
Centenary of Swann's Way
Published in 1913, Du côté de chez Swann celebrates its centenary with a special feature edited by Jean Milly in the Bulletin, and with a celebration held in Illiers-Combray, in the very places that inspired Proust's Combray.
150 years of Marcel Proust & a presidential visit
The Society celebrates the 150th anniversary of Marcel Proust's birth, with ceremonies in Illiers-Combray and a tribute at Père-Lachaise, among other events. On 15 September 2021, the President of the Republic, Emmanuel Macron, visits the Maison de Tante Léonie alongside the president of the Society, Jérôme Bastianelli, and announces the renovation campaign that would lead to its reopening in 2024.
Centenary of Marcel Proust's death
The Bulletin devotes its issue to the writer's death a century earlier, in a year rich in events: the Journée des aubépines, the issue of a stamp bearing Proust's likeness, the opening of a "château de Swann", and pastiche and reading competitions.
Reopening after renovation
After two and a half years of renovation funded by the Eure-et-Loir Departmental Council, a faithful and valued supporter of the Association, and by the heritage lottery (Mission Stéphane Bern), the Maison de Tante Léonie reopens its doors in May 2024, fully renovated, with new museum spaces.
Governance
Executive Committee
Board of Directors
Jérôme Bastianelli · Antoine Compagnon, of the Académie française · Élyane Dezon-Jones · Emily Eells · Rémi Frentz · Emmanuel Glaser · Anne Heilbronn · Jean-Paul Henriet · Anne Imbert · Anne de Lacretelle · Alexandra de Léal · Jacques Letertre · Dominique Mabin · Nathalie Mauriac Dyer · Emmanuel Pradère · Nicolas Ragonneau · François de Ricqlès · Bruno Saillant · Isabelle Serça · Jean-Yves Tadié · Éric Unger
Honorary Members
The Minister of Education · the Minister of Culture · the Mayor of Paris · the Prefect of Eure-et-Loir · the President of the Centre–Val de Loire Regional Council · the President of the Eure-et-Loir Departmental Council · the Mayor of Illiers-Combray · the Mayor of Cabourg · the Rector of the Orléans-Tours Academy · the President of the Centre national du Livre
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