If Balzac was one of the founders of the Realist movement, then it was Gustave Flaubert who perfected Realism as an art form in France. Flaubert is especially known for honing the use of detail in Realism: this guy knew how to write about the tiniest aspects of daily life in a way that was unprecedented—and actually interesting. His writing served as an important model for many of the Realist writers who came after him.

Flaubert was a slow writer: he could spend days and days agonizing over a sentence. He was an author who was obsessed with finding le mot juste, or "the right word," to express his observations of and ideas about daily life. He brought style and elegance to the relatively simple and straightforward language of Realist novels.

Madame Bovary

It's the story of a bored housewife living in a provincial town in France who has affairs as a way of escaping her suffocating routine. This was Flaubert's first full-length novel, and many consider it be his greatest masterpiece.

Brilliant use of detail? Check. Great characterization? Check. The dramas of daily life? Check. A great example of 19th-century Realism? Triple check.

Sentimental Education

Sentimental Education tells the tale of Frédéric Moreau, a young man who falls in love with an older woman. The novel depicts Parisian society following the years of the 1848 revolution. Here, we see different levels of French society.

All of the hallmarks of Flaubert's Realist style are to be found in this novel: sharp observation, stylish prose, and wonderful characterization. It's another of his masterpieces.

Chew on This

Flaubert's use of detail is a key aspect of his writing style. Check out his use of detail in these quotations from Madame Bovary.

Flaubert is also a master of writing about class. See him put the focus on class and society in these quotations from Sentimental Education.