“All one's inventions are true, you can be sure of that. Poetry is as exact a science as geometry.”

French novelist, 19th century

Gustave Flaubert was a French novelist of the 19th century. He is best known for Madame Bovary, first published in 1857, and for the letters gathered in his Correspondence. He was widely regarded as a leading figure in literary realism in France and beyond, and as a writer who cared intensely about style and aesthetics. His work and correspondence helped define his reputation, and Guy de Maupassant was among the writers he mentored.