George Sand's fictionalised account of her notorious affair with the
poet Alfred de Musset caused a sensation on its publication two years
after his death, in 1859. It also prompted a volley of claim and
counter-claim: two more novels rapidly appeared in the following months,
Lui Et Elle, by Musset's brother, defending his reputation; and Lui, by
Louise Colet, Flaubert's former mistress and briefly Musset's. Then the
journalists and commentators of the day joined in, with Eux, by Gaston
Lavalley, and Eux Et Elles, by Adolphe de Lescure, satirising the whole
sordid business.