48 hours in the footsteps of Le Grand Meaulnes

On the threshold of the Sologne and on the borders of the Berry region, the walk passes through La Chapelle-d'Angillon, the writer's native village, around which he sets the story. It lies 125 km north of Épineuil-le-Fleuriel, where he spent his childhood and from which he drew inspiration in many of his descriptions. The Château de la Verrerie, in Oizon, a superb Renaissance residence extensively remodeled in the 19th century, may have served as a model for, among other things, the "mysterious domain" where the strange party is held. In the middle of December, in the "most desolate corner of Sologne", Augustin Meaulnes is disturbed during this baroque evening by an unknown young girl playing the piano, Yvonne de Galais. The meeting takes place the next day and definitively seals the destiny of the two young people, Augustin, tormented and passionate, Yvonne by his side for a fleeting moment, "quivering like a swallow". These paths are best taken in winter, or autumn, when the mist covers the ponds at dawn and disperses, like wild ducks, lacerated by the rays of the hiemal sun. The dreamlike romanticism that infuses the whole atmosphere of Le Grand Meaulnes is still perceptible in these tawny landscapes and motionless villages, spanning the Petite and Grande Sauldre or following the Beuvron. Alain-Fournier's birthplace is in La Chapelle-d'Angillon. His parents returned to work there when Henri-Alban (the writer's real first name) was 20, and they are buried in the village cemetery. With his friend and brother-in-law Jacques Rivière, he recalls the home of his childhood: "I think softly of the perfume of the bread brought in at midday, the perfume of the country cheese at four o'clock, my grandmother's 'Cerise', all the wholesome smells of the cupboards, closets and garden."From La Chapelle-d'Angillon, a historic detour takes you to Henrichemont, a "new town" designed by Sully in honor of Henri IV, on an original plan: eight arterial roads laid out at regular 45-degree angles to each other start from the central square. Another detour, but a wine one, takes you to Menetou-Salon and its delicate Sauvignons. An evocative loop will take you from La Chapelle-d'Angillon to Neuvy-sur-Barangeon, then on to Nançay, of course, another of the writer's family cradles - his father was born there, his uncle ran a store there, inspiring the character of Meaulnes' Uncle Florentin, and the Galerie Capazza, housed in a superb building attached to the château, offers an imaginary Musée du Grand Meaulnes -; Souesmes, the birthplace of hairdresser Jacques Dessange; Souvigny-en-Sologne, an admirable village of brick and half-timbered houses, where Eugène Labiche was mayor for ten years; Brinon-sur-Sauldre and Aubigny-sur-Nère, by far the liveliest little town on this tour, with its good food shops.