46
46 FLAUBERT, Gustave. Madame Bovary. Paris: Michel Lévy frères, 1857 Flaubert’s masterpiece, inscribed to a childhood flame First edition, first issue, warmly inscribed by the author on the half-title to Aglaé Motte: “à Me Motte / Hommage de son tou[t] / dévoué / G[usta]ve Flauber[t]”. This is a compelling association: Flaubert had a childhood crush on Aglaé, who was 18 years older than him, and maintained a passion for her for several decades. Aglaé Motte (née Mignot, 1803-1866) was the daughter of a neighbour of the Flauberts in Rouen, known as Père Mignot. Mignot took a liking to Gustave, a young boy at the time, and would often invite him to his house to read stories, including Don Quixote , thereby sparking the young Gustave’s interest in literature. It is almost certainly at Père Mignot’s house that Flaubert first met Aglaé. Ernest Chevalier, who became Gustave’s best friend, was Père Mignot’s grandson, Aglaé’s nephew, and would often join them during these storytelling sessions. Albert Mignot, another of Aglaé’s nephews and the biographer of Chevalier, described Aglaé as “one of those women towards whom one feels irresistibly drawn. She was one of those rare natures, where egoism never found a place” (translated from Mignot, p. 16). He also revealed that in one of Gustave’s early letters the ‘enfant’ Flaubert confessed: “It seems to me that I am beginning to have a crush on this good lady” (ibid.). Eventually, Aglaé married a Rouen doctor, Adolphe Motte (1794- 1866), another close friend of the Flauberts.
Although Flaubert left Rouen in 1840 and moved to Paris to study law, his love for Aglaé did not diminish. In a letter of June 1842 to Ernest Chevalier, he lamented not being able to spend more time with the Mottes, and asked: “give a hug on my behalf to mother Motte, [and] Madame Motte, for whom I still have a bit of passion”. Flaubert’s habit of gifting copies of his works to friends and acquaintances is well-documented, and the first edition of Madame Bovary is no exception. Copies of this title inscribed to women, however, are very rare. We were able to trace only two examples at auction, and the present copy is the only inscribed copy known with a romantic association. First published in the magazine La Revue de Paris in 1856, the novel was immediately sued for “outrage aux bonnes moeurs” (affront to public decency) and Flaubert appeared before the court on 7 February 1857. Defended by Maitre Sénard, he was found not guilty and publication resumed. Madame Bovary is now acknowledged as one of the greatest novels of its epoch and Flaubert’s masterpiece. This copy has the first issue points, with the dedicatee’s name misspelt “Senart” and continuous pagination between the volumes. 2 volumes, octavo (173 x 117 mm). Early 20th-century quarter calf by H. Lilie, active in Paris, spines with raised bands, gilt floral decoration in compartments, marbled sides and endpapers, yellow and pink silk bookmarkers. Bound without publisher’s advertisements. A lovely, fresh copy, with half-titles, that of vol. 1 with Flaubert’s inscription slightly shaved in the binding process cropping two letters, a touch of wear to corners and spine ends, contents very lightly toned but generally crisp and clean. ¶ Vicaire 721. A. Mignot, Ernest Chevalier . . . son intimité avec Gustave Flaubert , 1888. £17,500 [157581]
ONLY CONNECT
38
Made with FlippingBook Online newsletter maker