[Oeuvres complètes 02] • Oeuvres Complètes De Gustave Flaubert

"I want to write the moral history of the men of my generation—or, more

accurately, the history of their feelings," declared Gustave Flaubert, who

envisioned "a book about love, about passion; but passion such as can exist

nowadays—that is to say, inactive." First published in 1869, this novel

fulfills Flaubert's conception with a realistic, ironic portrait of bourgeois

lives played out against France's tumultuous revolution of 1848 and the

founding of its Second Empire.

Frédéric Moreau, a law student in Paris, dreams of achieving success in art,

business, journalism, and politics. His aspirations take a romantic turn upon

a chance encounter with a married woman, who inspires a lifelong obsession.

Frédéric befriends his idol's husband, an influential art dealer, and quickly

finds himself seduced by society life—and bedeviled by financial problems,

ideological conflicts, and betrayals of trust. Blending romance, historical

authenticity, and satire, Flaubert's _Sentimental Education_ ranks among the

nineteenth century's great novels.