Gustave Flaubert

Born in Rouen, France, in 1821, Gustave Flaubert became one of the central novelists of the 19th century. He is widely regarded as a leading figure in literary realism, and his most famous book, Madame Bovary (1857), made him both celebrated and controversial when it led to a trial over the novel's alleged immorality.

Flaubert was known for an exacting approach to style, working painstakingly to shape his sentences and give his prose a distinctive clarity and rhythm. Alongside Madame Bovary, his major works include Sentimental Education, Salammbô, Three Tales, and the unfinished Bouvard et Pécuchet.

He died in 1880 at Croisset, near Rouen, but his influence only grew afterward. Readers and writers continue to return to him for the psychological depth of his characters, his eye for social detail, and the extraordinary care he brought to every page.