Description: An acknowledged master of translation, Francis Steegmuller has given us by far the most generous and varied selection of Flaubert's letters in English. He presents these with an engrossing narrative that places them in the context of the writer's life and times.
Brief description: Francis Steegmuller is the author of more than twenty books and a recipient of numerous awards and honors. His translation of Madame Bovary is an acknowledged classic. In 1982 the American Academy and Institute of Arts and Letters awarded him its Gold Medal for Biography.
Review Quotes: Steegmuller...is again a deft, witty and indefatigable commentator, stitching Flaubert's correspondence together with all the background information we need in order to appreciate it. Among his many fine asides, Mr. Steegmuller tells us that Proust disliked the style of Flaubert's letters even more than that of his novels; that Gide kept his volumes of them beside his bed like a bible.--Anatole Broyard "New York Times"