Three Tales

Gustave Flaubert

03/2012 · Courier Corporation

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This trio of short stories by the author of Madame Bovary were the last of Flaubert's works published in his lifetime, and their ambitious range reaches from the 19th century back to the Middle Ages and to ancient Israel. "A Simple Heart," in Flaubert's own words, "is just the account of an obscure life, that of Félicité a poor country girl, pious but mystical, quietly devoted, and as tender as fresh bread." "The Legend of Saint Julian the Hospitaller" concerns a hunter and warrior whose attempts to escape dire prophecy ultimately lead to a state of grace. "Herodias," based on the legends surrounding King Herod, Salome, and John the Baptist, served as the inspiration for later interpretations by Oscar Wilde and Jules Massenet. Translated by Arthur McDowall.

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Born in the town of Rouen, in northern France, in 1821, Gustave Flaubert was sent to study law in Paris at the age of 18. After only three years, his career was interrupted and he retired to live with his widowed mother in their family home at Croisset, on the banks of the Seine River. Supported by a private income, he devoted himself to his writing. Flaubert traveled with writer Maxime du Camp from November 1849 to April 1851 to North Africa, Syria, Turkey, Greece, and Italy. When he returned he began Madame Bovary, which appeared first in the Revue in 1856 and in book form the next year. The realistic depiction of adultery was condemned as immoral and Flaubert was prosecuted, but escaped conviction. Other major works include Salammbo (1862), Sentimental Education (1869), and The Temptation of Saint Antony (1874). His long novel Bouvard et Pecuchet was unfinished at his death in 1880. After his death, Flaubert's fame and reputation grew steadily, strengthened by the publication of his unfinished novel in 1881 and the many volumes of his correspondence.