It was on this date, December 12, 1821, that the French novelist of the Realist school, Gustave Flaubert was born in Rouen into a family of doctors. Naturally he began to train for a medical career, but rebelled against that, took up law, failed his exams, and turned to literature. He lived with his mother until he was 50.

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Originally published December 2003 by Ronald Bruce Meyer.