Born: 12 December 1821 · Died: 8 May 1880 · Age at death: 58
How old was Gustave Flaubert when he died?
Gustave Flaubert died aged 58. He was born on 12 December 1821 and died on 8 May 1880.
French novelist whose Madame Bovary, tried for obscenity in 1857, set new standards for realism and precise style
Did you know?He was notoriously meticulous about his writing, often spending an entire week perfecting a single page of text.
Editor's Take:
Flaubert believed that every sentence should be perfect, and he worked tirelessly to find exactly the right word. His novel Madame Bovary tells the story of a doctor's wife who escapes her dull provincial life through romantic dreams, affairs and debt. It was so frank that he was put on trial for offending public morals, though he was acquitted. His detached, realistic style changed the novel and influenced writers from Henry James to James Joyce. He also wrote Salammbô, an exotic historical novel set in ancient Carthage.
Key Milestones
1844: Settles at Croisset after illness
1849: Travels to Egypt and the Middle East
1856: Madame Bovary – serialised
1857: Trial and acquittal for offending public morals
Gustave Flaubert (UK: FLOH-bair, US: floh-BAIR; French:; 12 December 1821 – 8 May 1880) was a French novelist. He has been considered the leading exponent of literary realism in his country and abroad.
French novelist, born in Rouen on 12 December 1821
Gustave Flaubert was born in Rouen on 12 December 1821, the son of a surgeon. He studied law in Paris but suffered a nervous illness and returned home.
He spent most of his life at Croisset, near Rouen, writing slowly and carefully. Madame Bovary was published in 1856–57 and led to a famous obscenity trial.
Other works include Salammbô, Sentimental Education and Three Tales. He died in 1880, leaving the satirical novel Bouvard and Pécuchet unfinished.
Career highlights
1821Born in Rouen
1844Settles at Croisset: after illness
1849Travels to Egypt and the Middle East
1856Madame Bovary: serialised
1857Trial and acquittal: for offending public morals
1862Salammbô
1869Sentimental Education
1877Three Tales
1880Dies at Croisset
Did you know?He read his sentences aloud, sometimes shouting them, to test their rhythm, a practice he called his 'gueuloir' or 'shouting room'.
Gustave Flaubert's birthday is December 12. He was born on December 12, 1821 in Rouen, France.
How old was Gustave Flaubert when he died?
Gustave Flaubert died on May 8, 1880, aged 58.
Who shares a birthday with Gustave Flaubert?
Famous people who share Gustave Flaubert's December 12 birthday include Frank Sinatra, Edvard Munch, Chingiz Aĭtmatov, Jennifer Connelly and Alfred Werner.
