He was studying… Flaubert at the Collège Royal de Rouen

As a student at the Collège Royal de Rouen between 1832 and 1839, Flaubert did not enjoy the discipline imposed by school life, but he benefited from a good, continuous education within his family environment and took lessons from two outstanding teachers, in particular, the history teacher Adolphe Chéruel, a disciple of Michelet. But contemporary literature had no place in the curriculum: Dumas and Hugo had to be read in secret or outside.