traveldk.com

Flaubert spent the greater part of his 59 years in Normandy; its places and people suffuse his writing. Born in Rouen in 1821, he abandoned a Paris law training to live and write in Croisset until his death. He published his finest work, Madame Bovary , in 1857.

Maupassant (1850–93) was born at Château de Miromesnil near Dieppe, and spent his childhood in Étretat. His mother had been a playmate of Flaubert, who guided Maupassant’s debut as a writer. His first masterpiece was Boule de suif (1880).

Proust was born in Paris in 1871 and died there in 1922. His A la recherche du temps perdu is permeated by memories of Normandy – perhaps most notably the Grand Hôtel at Cabourg, which he renamed Balbec.

The classical dramatist Pierre Corneille (1606–84) was born in Rouen. His plays Le Cid , Horace , Cinna and Polyeucte formed the yardstick for French tragedy, while Le Menteur is a comic masterpiece. His writing often reflects the tension between regional and national loyalties.

Born in 1869 of a Huguenot father and Norman mother, Gide spent the early and latter parts of his life in Normandy. He saw the realities of life here, first as mayor of a commune, and later as a juror in Rouen. He won the Nobel prize four years before his death in 1951.

Barbey (1808–89), novelist, commentator, conversationalist and, as an admirer of Byron and Brummell, inveterate dandy, was still able to scandalize at 66, when he published Les Diaboliques . Born in St-Saveur-le-Vicomte, he was raised on a diet of Norman tales told by a family servant.

Pasquier called Alain Chartier (c. 1390–c. 1430) – probably best known for La Belle Dame sans merci – “the Seneca of France”. Born into a distinguished Bayeux family, he wrote his earliest poem, Livre des quatre dames , after France’s defeat at the Battle of Agincourt in 1415.

What little is known about the poet Robert Wace (c. 1115–c. 1183) comes from his last work, Roman de Rou , a verse history of the dukes of Normandy. Educated in Caen, he wrote his romances for the great and good there.

The classical poet Malherbe (1555–1628) left his birthplace Caen to study in Paris, Basle and Heidelberg. He worked for Henri d’Angoulême (grand prieur of France and governor of Provence) for 10 years before returning home. Called to Court in 1605, he became the strict arbiter of French literary style.

Prévert (1900–77) visited Normandy in 1930 and fell in love with it. Soon after, he started to write poetry on the themes of beauty, innocence, love and despair. Paroles , his best-known collection, was published in 1945. In 1971, he and his wife bought a house in Omonville-la-Petite. They are buried nearby, and there is a memorial garden in St-Germain-des-Vaux.