Flauberts First Novel

Lducation sentimentale, begun in 1843 and finished after two substantial interruptions in 1845, was Flauberts first attempt at a full-scale novel. Though overshadowed by the 1869 novel of the same title, it is a crucially important text in Flauberts literary development. Alan Raitt provides a controversial new reading of the books genesis and development, and addresses many of the misapprehensions that have grown up around this pivotal work.