Bouvard and Pecuchet is Flaubert's unfinished comic novel, published after his death. Two Paris copy clerks meet, become close friends and unexpectedly come into some money. They retire to the countryside and set out to master every field of knowledge, from farming and chemistry to history, politics and philosophy. Each new pursuit ends in failure and farce, as they follow books without good judgement. The novel is a satire on received ideas and on the pride of learning, and its dry humour has been praised by many later writers.