FLAUBERT, Gustave (1821-1882), écrivain français.

L.A.S., [to Jules Lemaître]. Tuesday 21 [October 1879]. 1 p. in-8. Beautiful letter in which Flaubert quotes Madame Bovary, Salammbô, La Tentation de Saint-Antoine and Hérodias. "You are right, dear confrere, the man who made Madame Bovary can be found in Salammbô. I thank you for what you say very familiarly about St. Anthony, who is the fruit son of my womb. Allow me a small remark: Herodias does not seem to me to be made in the same way as Salammbô? I wanted to be more sober - & the historical intention is more rigorous. There is now a great deal of room for criticism. You have everything you need to conquer it. Go ahead, go ahead. We can make a brand new one - & that will look no more like St Widow's than Laharpe's. We'll talk about it. I think you're hard on your worms. The last tercet on Fénelon is a marvel of just about the rightness ...". Flaubert wrote these lines following two studies by Jules Lemaître in the Revue politique et littéraire: "Les roman de moeurs contemporaines" and "Les roman de moeurs antiques" (11 and 18 October 1879).