Book description
Sentimental Education begins with the hero - Frederic Moreau - leaving
Paris and returning to the provinces and his mother. Part love story,
part historical novel and satire it tells of how Moreau is driven by
passion for an unattainable older woman. His 'sentimental education'
turns out to be more of an anxious quest than a happy one, echoing
Flaubert's own life experience of unrequited love. Packed with vivid
detail and characterised by its historical authenticity, the book was
described by Flaubert as 'the moral history of the men of my
generation'.
Flaubert was born in 1821. After illness ended a career in law, he
retired to live with his mother and devote himself to writing. He
achieved limited success in his own lifetime, but his reputation grew
steadily after his death in 1880.
Geoffrey Wall teaches French at the University of York. His
biography of Flaubert has been translated into four languages.
