Balzac’s source of inspiration

Located in the heart of Touraine, Château de Saché provided a setting that helped inspire some of Honoré de Balzac’s finest work. From 1830 to 1837 – the most prolific years in his career – the author of La Comédie Humaine found a perfect refuge there as a guest of his friend Jean de Margonne, a much needed escape from his creditors and Parisian life in general.
At work in his little room on the second floor, he wrote parts of several of his greatest masterpieces, including Le Père Goriot, Illusions Perdues and La Recherche de l’Absolu. The Indre Valley, Saché, and the châteaux round about provided the setting for his famous novel Le Lys dans la Vallée.

History

The successive modifications carried out from the Renaissance to the 17th century have given the château its own unique style and charm: The edifice was refitted to suit 19th-century taste by its then owner Jean Margonne, who, among other things, was responsible for decorating the main drawing room with its impressive trompe-l'oeil wallpaper.

On the ground floor, a 19th-century printing room evokes Balzac’s first profession, while another room is devoted to Auguste Rodin’s statue of the writer. The three-hectare park, surrounded by lilies, peonies, delphiniums…, offers romantic walks. Also discover two more writer’s houses: the Rabelais museum in Seuilly and the house of Ronsard in La Riche.