The Cambridge Companion to Flaubert (Cambridge Companions to Literature)

This Companion's textual analysis of the complete range of Flaubert's work, including Madame Bovary, is accompanied by discussion of broader theoretical issues, including Flaubert's place in the canon of French literature. The series of new essays represents the latest scholarly thinking on the novelist's work and critical legacy. A variety of critical approaches provides insight into the continuing power of Flaubert's writing. An afterword by Mario Vargas Llosa concludes the volume. The book includes a chronology and suggestions for further reading. This volume brings together a series of essays by acknowledged experts on Flaubert. It offers a coherent overview of the writer's work and critical legacy, and provides insights into the very latest scholarly thinking. While a central place is given to Flaubert's most widely read texts, attention is also paid to key areas of the corpus that have tended to be overlooked. Close textual analyses are accompanied by discussion of broader theoretical issues, and by a consideration of Flaubert's place in the wider traditions that he both inherited and influenced. These essays provide not only a robust critical framework for readers of Flaubert, but also a fuller understanding of why he continues to exert such a powerful influence on literature and literary studies today. A concluding essay by the prize-winning author Mario Vargas Llosa examines Flaubert's legacy from the point of view of the modern novelist "This volume brings together a series of new essays representing the latest scholarly thinking on the novelist's work and critical legacy. Textual analyses of the full range of Flaubert's work, including Madame Bovary, are accompanied by discussion of broader theoretical issues, and of Flaubert's place in the canon of French literature. This variety of approaches not only provides a robust critical framework, but also yields insights into why Flaubert's writing continues to exert such a powerful influence. This book includes a chronology and suggestions for further reading."--Jacket