Flaubert

Michel Winock’s biography situates Gustave Flaubert’s life and work in France’s century of great democratic transition. Flaubert did not welcome the egalitarian society predicted by Tocqueville. Wary of the masses, he rejected the universal male suffrage hard won by the Revolution of 1848, and he was exasperated by the nascent socialism that promoted the collective to the detriment of the individual. But above all, he hated the bourgeoisie. Vulgar, ignorant, obsessed with material comforts, impervious to beauty, the French middle class embodied for Flaubert every vice of the democratic age. His loathing became a fixation—and a source of literary inspiration. __Flaubert__ depicts a man whose personality, habits, and thought are a stew of paradoxes. The author of __Madame Bovary__ and __Sentimental Education__ spent his life inseparably bound to solitude and melancholy, yet he enjoyed periodic escapes from his “hole” in Croisset to pursue a variety of pleasures: fervent friendships, society soirées, and a whirlwind of literary and romantic encounters. He prided himself on the impersonality of his writing, but he did not hesitate to use material from his own life in his fiction. Nowhere are Flaubert’s contradictions more evident than in his politics. An enemy of power who held no nostalgia for the monarchy or the church, he was nonetheless hostile to collectivist utopias. Despite declarations of the timelessness and sacredness of Art, Flaubert could not transcend the era he abominated. Rejecting the modern world, he paradoxically became its celebrated chronicler and the most modern writer of his time. A “well-researched, elegantly written” study of the life and work of 19th-century French author Gustave Flaubert (Roger Pearson, University of Oxford).Michel Winock's biography situates Gustave Flaubert's life and work in France's century of great democratic transition. Flaubert did not welcome the egalitarian society predicted by Tocqueville. Wary of the masses, he rejected the universal male suffrage hard won by the Revolution of 1848, and he was exasperated by the nascent socialism that promoted the collective to the detriment of the individual. But above all, he hated the bourgeoisie. Vulgar, ignorant, obsessed with material comforts, impervious to beauty, the French middle class embodied for Flaubert every vice of the democratic age. His loathing became a fixation—and a source of literary inspiration.Flaubert depicts a man whose personality, habits, and thought are a stew of paradoxes. The author of Madame Bovary and Sentimental Education spent his life inseparably bound to solitude and melancholy, yet he enjoyed periodic escapes from his “hole” in Croisset to pursue a variety of pleasures: fervent friendships, society soirées, and a whirlwind of literary and romantic encounters. He prided himself on the impersonality of his writing, but he did not hesitate to use material from his own life in his fiction. Nowhere are Flaubert's contradictions more evident than in his politics. An enemy of power who held no nostalgia for the monarchy or the church, he was nonetheless hostile to collectivist utopias.Despite declarations of the timelessness and sacredness of Art, Flaubert could not transcend the era he abominated. Rejecting the modern world, he paradoxically became its celebrated chronicler and the most modern writer of his time.Praise for Flaubert“This generous study ingeniously builds a narrative around Flaubert's own words—from not only the novels but also voluminous correspondence and unpublished work. Adding light background and analysis, Winock allows the mind of the Master to shine.” —The New Yorker“It is precisely the historical background of Flaubert's times, both its conscious and its invisible impingements on the writer's sensibility, on which Winock is especially revelatory... Michel Winock has written a compelling and stylish biography, and Nicholas Elliott has brought it into English with flair and skill.” —Bruce Whiteman, Hudson Review“Noted French historian Winock's biography succeeds in presenting a fresh portrait of a man plagued by paradoxes... Winock provides absorbing background related to the country's social and political scenes that occurred during his subject's lifetime.” —Erica Swenson Danowitz, Library Journal Michel Winock Situates Flaubert In France's Century Of Great Democratic Transition. Wary Of The Masses, Flaubert Rejected Universal Suffrage, But Above All He Hated The Vulgar, Ignorant Bourgeoisie, A Class That Embodied Every Vice Of The Democratic Age. His Loathing Became A Fixation--and A Source Of Literary Inspiration.-- The Time And The Place -- Oh! To Write -- To Love -- A Change Of Direction -- Death On The Horizon -- Louise -- 1848 -- A Longing For The Orient -- From The Pyramids To Constantinople -- Louise (last And Final) -- Emma -- Fame -- Life In Paris -- Salammbo -- Caroline's Marriage -- The Hermit In White Gloves -- Monseigneur -- Frederic Is Not Me -- Frederic Is Us -- Cold Shower -- George Sand And The Old Troubadour -- War! -- The Paris Commune -- The Being I Loved Most -- The Ups And Downs Of Melancholy -- Financial Ruin And Bereavement -- Blue Sky Ahead! -- Everything Infuriates And Weighs Upon Me -- Post Mortem -- Sketches For A Portrait -- Chronology -- A Complendium Of Flaubert Quotations -- A Critical Anthology. Michel Winock ; Translated By Nicholas Elliott. This Book Was Originally Published As Flaubert, (c) Editions Gallimard, Paris, 2013--title Page Verso. Includes Bibliographical References And Index. Chapter 18. Frédéric Is Not Me -- Chapter 19. Frédéric Is Us -- Chapter 20. Cold Shower -- Chapter 21. George Sand and the Old Troubadour -- Chapter 22. War! -- Chapter 23. The Paris Commune -- Chapter 24. "The Being I Loved Most"--Chapter 25. The Ups and Downs of Melancholy -- Chapter 26. Financial Ruin and Bereavement -- Chapter 27. "Blue Sky Ahead!"--Chapter 28. "Every thing Infuriates and Weighs upon Me" -- Chapter 29. Post Mortem -- Chapter 30. Sketches for a Portrait -- Chronology -- A Compendium of Flaubert Quotations -- A Critical Anthology -- Notes -- Sources and Bibliography Cover -- Title -- Copyright -- Contents -- Preface -- Chapter 1. The Time and the Place -- Chapter 2. "Oh! To Write"--Chapter 3. To Love -- Chapter 4. A Change of Direction -- Chapter 5. Death on the Horizon -- Chapter 6. Louise -- Chapter 7. 1848 -- Chapter 8. A Longing for the Orient -- Chapter 9. From the Pyramids to Constantinople -- Chapter 10. Louise (Last and Final) -- Chapter 11. Emma -- Chapter 12. Fame -- Chapter 13. Life in Paris -- Chapter 14. Salammbô -- Chapter 15. Caroline's Marriage -- Chapter 16. The Hermit in White Gloves -- Chapter 17. Monseigneur