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Francis Steegmuller’s beautifully executed double portrait of Madame Bovary and her maker is a remarkable and unusual biographical study, a sensitive and detailed account of how an unpromising young man turns himself into one of the world’s greatest novelists. Steegmuller starts with the young Flaubert, prone to mysterious fits, hypochondriacal, at odds with and yet dependent on his bourgeois family. Then, drawing on Flaubert’s voluminous correspondence, Steegmuller tracks his subject through friendships and love affairs, a trip to the Orient, a nervous breakdown and tenuous recovery, and finally into the study, where a mind at once restless and jaded finds a focus in the precisely detailed reality of an imagined woman, utterly ordinary in her unhappiness, whose story was to revolutionize literature. This biographical study is executed with all the precision and vision of a great novel. ... Read more

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Madame Bovary, c'est lui
Francis Steegmuller's biography of Gustave Flaubert that focuses primarily on how he came to become a great novelist (and wrote his first published major work, MADAME BOVARY, which was to define him for the rest of his life and after) is not only as much fun as when it first came out in the Thirties but it even anticipates later experiments in biographical form. Many biographers now focus on shorter periods in their subjects' lives to tell clearer stories, and in doing so they look back to this groundbreaking work. The sharper focus allows Steegmuller a strong narrative drive (which is otherwise always a problem in biography), and as a result he constructs a novelistic story--one even suggestive of Flaubert himself. Steegmuller allows Flaubert's famously sumptuous letters to his mistress Louise Colet, and his travel diaries of Egypt, to take over a large part of his story sometimes to the detriment of the narrative arc (although no one could really complain about getting Flaubert's own writing in large chunks). However, in letting Flaubert's point of view so dominate his own that he does wind up seeming as biased against Colet as Flaubert was during the worst parts of their stormy long affair. But in a biography of this sort could there be any other possible outcome? The descriptions of Rouen and Croisset and Genoa and Egypt are colored with how the always restless novelists must have seen them; this biography gives you a much stronger sense of its subject's personality that more conventional ones could. ... Read more

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Originally published in 1922.This volume from the Cornell University Library's print collections was scanned on an APT BookScan and converted to JPG 2000 format by Kirtas Technologies.All titles scanned cover to cover and pages may include marks notations and other marginalia present in the original volume. ... Read more

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This Companion's textual analysis of the complete range of Flaubert's work, including Madame Bovary, is accompanied by discussion of broader theoretical issues, including Flaubert's place in the canon of French literature. The series of new essays represents the latest scholarly thinking on the novelist's work and critical legacy. A variety of critical approaches provides insight into the continuing power of Flaubert's writing. An afterword by Mario Vargas Llosa concludes the volume. The book includes a chronology and suggestions for further reading. ... Read more

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A biography of the author of Madame Bovary discusses Flaubert's outrage with society, his desire for seclusion, his illicit affair with his importunate mistress, and his writing. ... Read more

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A charming bio of "the hermit of Croisset"
In "Flaubert"Henri Troyat has written another charming &cozy account of the life of Gustav Flaubert_____arguably the mostmeticulous literary prose stylist there ever was. Troyat covers all thebases of Flaubert's life starting with his childhood___his father was asolid ,bourgeois doctor___to his earliest literary stirrings & goes onto recount his transformation into one of the most obsessive literaryperfectionists of all times.His dalliances with different mistresses ,hissolitary forays into the uncharted waters of literary creation [from thesafety of his well-stocked study overlooking the river____mostly atnight____the light from his study serving as a landmark for the sailors]are narrated with verve .Troyat has drawn extensively from Flaubert'scorrespondence .Though charming , this work lacks the breadth & sweepof Troyat's " Tolstoy ". ... Read more

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Par une chaude journée d'été, à Paris, deux hommes, Bouvard et Pécuchet, se rencontrent et font connaissance. Ils découvrent que, non seulement ils exercent le même métier (copiste), mais en plus ils ont les mêmes centres d'intérêts. S'ils le pouvaient, ils aimeraient vivre à la campagne. Un héritage fort opportun va leur permettre de changer de vie. Ils reprennent une ferme dans le Calvados, non loin de Caen et se lancent dans l'agriculture. Leur incapacité à comprendre va n'engendrer que des désastres. De la même manière, ils vont s'intéresser à la médecine, à la chimie, la géologie, la politique avec les mêmes résultats. Lassés par tant d'échecs, ils retournent à leur métier de copiste. ... Read more

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Described by Henry James as 'one of the first of the classics' and so regarded ever since, MADAME BOVARY has touched generations of readers and moulded generations of writers. The story of a little woman in a provincial town who dreams of happiness and then perishes by her own hand is worked up by Flaubant into a profound and heart rending study of human bondage. ... Read more

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A selection of Flaubert's letters, with a fascinating look at his life and work by Caroline Commanville. ... Read more

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M. Flobaire, You must be a truly dirty oaf to have taken my name and written a letter with it to a lady who had some favors for me which you doubtless received in my place and inherited my hat in place of which I have received yours which you left there. It is the lowness of that lady's conduct and of yours that make me think that she lacks education entirely and all those sentiments which she ought to understand. ... Read more

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This is a reproduction of a book published before 1923.This book may have occasional imperfections such as missing or blurred pages, poor pictures, errant marks, etc. that were either part of the original artifact, or were introduced by the scanning process.We believe this work is culturally important, and despite the imperfections, have elected to bring it back into print as part of our continuing commitment to the preservation of printed works worldwide.We appreciate your understanding of the imperfections in the preservation process, and hope you enjoy this valuable book. ... Read more

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This is an EXACT reproduction of a book published before 1923. This IS NOT an OCR'd book with strange characters, introduced typographical errors, and jumbled words.This book may have occasional imperfections such as missing or blurred pages, poor pictures, errant marks, etc. that were either part of the original artifact, or were introduced by the scanning process. We believe this work is culturally important, and despite the imperfections, have elected to bring it back into print as part of our continuing commitment to the preservation of printed works worldwide. We appreciate your understanding of the imperfections in the preservation process, and hope you enjoy this valuable book. ... Read more

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The classic works of literature contained in each of these volumes represent each author's best and most famous writings. A wonderful introduction to world literature, this finely crafted and affordable series offers the works of these world-renowned authors to a wider audience.Includes Madame Bovary and The Temptation of Saint Anthony.

Las obras clásicas de literatura en cada volumen son una representación de los mejores y más famosos escritos de los autores. Una introducción maravillosa a la literatura universal, esta serie hermosamente diseñada pone las obras de los autores mundialmente conocidos al alcance de todos. ... Read more