207,380 profiles ranked

Gustave Flaubert

French novelist (1821-1880) · France · Writers · Died at 58

Gustave Flaubert is read about 1,785 times a day, in 107 languages.

A typical day, 30 days to 15 October 2026

The middle day of the days counted, so one week of news cannot move it. The line under it is the last 390 days, one point a day.

Something wrong?
Compare

He turned the novel into a laboratory. Flaubert's obsession wasn't plot or passion but the perfect sentence - each word weighed, each rhythm tested aloud. That grinding method produced Madame Bovary and made him the face of literary realism across Europe.

WritersWriter / AuthorFictionLiteratureFranceEurope19th Century

A life in dates

1880Died8 May 1880“What is beautiful is moral, that is all there is to it.”In their words16 February 1880To Guy de Maupassant (February 16, 1880)

1869“For some men, the stronger their desire, the more difficult it is for them to act.”In their wordsPt. 2, Ch. 3

“He is so corrupt that he would willingly pay for the pleasure of selling himself.”In their wordsPt. 3, Ch. 3

1866Knight of the Legion of HonourAward1857“There is no 'true'. There are merely ways of perceiving truth.”In their wordsQuoted in The Letters of Gustave Flaubert, 1857-1880, ed. and trans. Francis Steegmuller (Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 1982),

1846“To be stupid, selfish, and have good health are three requirements for happiness, though if stupidity is lacking, all is lost.”In their words13 August 1846

“One must not always think that feeling is everything. Art is nothing without form.”In their words12 August 1846

1821Born12 December 1821

Also in Deutsch

Photos 8

Gustave FlaubertGustave FlaubertBoulevard du Temple (Paris), numéro 42, portail 01Boulevard du Temple (Paris), numéro 42, portail 01Cabinet de Flaubert à CroissetCabinet de Flaubert à CroissetCommanville - Souvenirs sur Gustave Flaubert - Illustration Cadre 1Commanville - Souvenirs sur Gustave Flaubert - Illustration Cadre 1Commanville - Souvenirs sur Gustave Flaubert - Illustration Cadre 2Commanville - Souvenirs sur Gustave Flaubert - Illustration Cadre 2Commanville - Souvenirs sur Gustave Flaubert - Illustration Cadre 3Commanville - Souvenirs sur Gustave Flaubert - Illustration Cadre 3Commanville - Souvenirs sur Gustave Flaubert - Illustration Cadre 4Commanville - Souvenirs sur Gustave Flaubert - Illustration Cadre 4Commanville - Souvenirs sur Gustave Flaubert - Illustration p. 11Commanville - Souvenirs sur Gustave Flaubert - Illustration p. 11

In their own words 10

,
Gustave Flaubert
,
10 statements, newest first

  1. What is beautiful is moral, that is all there is to it.

    Feb 16, 1880, To Guy de Maupassant (February 16, 1880), Own words

  2. Without ideality, there is no grandeur; without grandeur there is no beauty. Olympus is a mountain. The most effective monument will always be the Pyramids.

    1869, Pt. 1, Ch. 4; the most famous portion of this statement is "Exuberance is better than taste..." [Mieux vaut l'exubérance que le goût.], Own words

  3. For some men, the stronger their desire, the more difficult it is for them to act.

    1869, Pt. 2, Ch. 3, Own words

Wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0

Awards

Knight of the Legion of Honour1866

Family

Gustave Flaubert
Is this everyone?

Only relatives with a profile here are drawn, so a family can be larger than this. A line here can also be wrong.

Correct this family

About this person

Gustave Flaubert was born in France on 12 December 1821. His debut novel, Madame Bovary, arrived in 1857 and secured his place as the leading exponent of literary realism in France and beyond. What set him apart wasn't just the work but the working: a scrupulous, near-torturous devotion to style and aesthetics that turned prose into architecture. His Correspondence became celebrated in its own right, mapping that discipline in real time. Guy de Maupassant, who would become a celebrated writer himself, studied under him. Flaubert died on 8 May 1880, leaving a method as influential as any single book.

Country
France
Category
Writers
Type
Writer / Author
Status
deceased
Dates
Lived 1821 to 1880 · aged 58

Writers from France 6

Anatole France78.9Arthur Rimbaud77.9Heinrich Heine80.0Guy de Maupassant77.7Antoine de Saint-Exupéry80.0Grand Corps Malade77.6

Fame.am measures public visibility signals. It does not measure human value, talent, morality, or credibility.