Literature Library author

Gustave Flaubert

A concise guide to Gustave Flaubert's body of work, major titles, and recurring themes.

AP-referenced author
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Forms
Novel
Indexed works
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Author overview

Gustave Flaubert (1821–1880) was a novelist whose body of work spans novels. This writing is associated with France. Major works and useful reading starting points include Madame Bovary, Q19150097, Dictionary of Received Ideas, and Three Tales. Key themes include Desire shaped by borrowed stories, Consumer credit and imagined transformation, Gendered limits and unequal mobility, and Performance, cliché, and self-deception.

Reading pathway

Begin with Madame Bovary.

Representative starting points

Madame Bovary

Emma Bovary tries to force marriage, motherhood, romance, religion, and luxury to match borrowed fantasies, while credit and self-deception turn longing into ruin.

All published guides by this author

Biography, authority, and bibliography sources

This independent author guide supports reading and discussion. Curriculum badges show useful AP or IB connections without making this an official AP or IB publication.