The Dictionary of Received Ideas

An insightful and playful look at nineteenth-century values and talking points, this dictionary will provide enduring entertainment and prove relevant in any ageA spoof encyclopedia of contemporary accepted wisdom and commonplaces, The Dictionary of Received Ideas sees Flaubert at his witty and satirical best. Perhaps intended as a companion to his final, unfinished novel Bouvard and Pécuchet, this compilation was the result of a lifetime of collecting the absurd and the clichéd, and providing darkly humorous explanations. This impressive new translation of a classic by the author of Madame Bovary is also currently the only edition in print in the English language.