The First Sentimental Education [Hardcover]

Gustave Flaubert (Author)

Editorial Reviews

Language Notes

Text: English, French (translation)

Product Details

• Hardcover: 291 pages
• Publisher: Univ of California Pr (June 1972)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0520019679
• ISBN-13: 978-0520019676
• Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 5.6 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.5 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,731,444 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Gustave Flaubert (1821-1880), the younger son of a provincial doctor, briefly studied law before devoting himself to writing, with limited success during his lifetime. After the publication of Madame Bovary in 1857, he was prosecuted for offending public morals.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Flaubert's neglected other novel, February 24, 2005

By 

calvados2000 (New York, NY) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The First Sentimental Education (Hardcover)

Don't be fooled by the title: this a completely different book from the other "Sentimental Education".

Written just before he set to work on "Madame Bovary" (though never published), this book marks the turning point between his so-called "juvenile writings" (many of which are more probing and insightful than much of what is written today) and the novels of his maturity.

The book tells the story of two young friends, one of whom goes to study in Paris. Admittedly, this premise is identical to that of the "Sentimental Education", but the novel immediately takes a different turn. Henry (the one who goes to Paris) tries to seduce his schoolmaster's wife in an often hilarious fashion; Jules (the one who stays in the countryside) tries to convince the world that he is a genius playwright in an equally comical fashion, finally "winning over" a group of con-artists. Towards the end of the book, major events occur in both of their lives, at which point the book takes a dramatic shift in tone and in character, taking this reader quite by surprise.

This book is of particular interest to fans of Flaubert because of the unique tone he employs in it. His juvenile romanticism and melodramatic tendencies are here in even balance with his mature use of irony and precision. The text is alive in a way that the other "Sentimental Education" is not: the reader senses Flaubert in the text, commenting and (gasp!) expressing his own opinions, particularly at the end, when he outlines his aesthetic theory explicitly and (double gasp!) eventually employs the first person.

While this book is by no means an equal to "Madame Bovary" or the later work of the same title, it stands on its own as a great portrait of 19th century life, and of a young author on his way to greatness.