FLAUBERT'S PARROT

With his customary grace and dry British wit, Simon Vance matches the tone and tenor of this decidedly erudite and playfully imaginative literary biography of one the most influential novelists of the nineteenth century, Gustave Flaubert. First published in 1984, Barnes's book blends speculation, fact, and Flaubert's own words into a detective story featuring a fictitious English doctor who is hot on the trail of the inspirational stuffed parrot that the great French novelist once kept on his desk. Sounding like a gentleman holding court in his drawing room, Vance introduces listeners to Flaubert's life, loves, proclivities, and, of course, his search for stylistic perfection in his most famous work, MADAME BOVARY. Fascinating and challenging--the way a good biography should sound. B.P. Winner of AudioFile Earphones Award, 2023 Audies Finalist © AudioFile 2023, Portland, Maine [Published: MARCH 2023]