Where Flaubert Lies: Chronology, Mythology and History

This book opens crucial new perspectives on the vexed question of chronology in Flaubert’s work. Critics have struggled long and hard with the apparent inconsistencies in his writing, but Claire Addison’s study reveals that the situation is far more subtle, complex and intriguing than hitherto supposed. She argues that Flaubert’s manipulation of dates is deliberate, and that what have previously been dismissed as inadvertent errors are in fact evidence of the strong presence of Flaubert’s family life, events in historical Europe, and events in the life of his literary characters. This original reading goes far beyond what traditional methods of literary history allow us to perceive of the link between the life and work of the author.