The Sentimental Education of the Novel

Focusing on the emergence of realism in the nineteenth-century French novel, this work challenges the notion that it was solely the domain of male authors like Balzac and Stendhal. Margaret Cohen highlights the significant influence of women writers and the sentimental novel, arguing that realist codes developed through a "hostile take-over" of these established practices. By reconstructing this pivotal period, the book sheds light on the often-overlooked contributions of female authors to the evolution of the novel.