Gustave Flaubert
French novelist considered the leading exponent of literary realism. Madame Bovary, his painstaking study of a provincial doctor's wife, set new standards for narrative precision and psychological depth in fiction.
Works
- Madame BovaryNovel of a provincial woman destroyed by romantic illusions and adultery
- Sentimental EducationNovel about young man's artistic ambitions and failed romantic pursuit and idealism
- SalammboHistorical novel set in ancient Carthage depicting sensuality and ancient civilization
- Three TalesCollection of three novellas exploring human passion, morality, and moral constraints
- Bouvard and PecuchetUnfinished novel depicting two men researching and copying all human knowledge