Madame Bovary is one of the greatest, most beguiling novels ever written.
Emma Bovary is an avid reader of sentimental novels; brought up on a Normandy farm and convent-educated, she longs for romance. At first, Emma pins her hopes on marriage, but life with her well-meaning husband in the provinces leaves her bored and dissatisfied. She seeks escape through extravagant spending sprees and, eventually, adultery. As Emma pursues her impossible reverie she seals her own ruin.
When the novel was first serialized in La Revue de Paris between 1 October 1856 and 15 December 1856, public prosecutors attacked the novel for obscenity. The resulting trial in January 1857 made the story notorious.
After Flaubert's acquittal on 7 February 1857, Madame Bovary became a bestseller in April 1857 when it was published in two volumes.
A seminal work of literary realism, the novel is now considered Flaubert's masterpiece, and one of the most influential literary works in history.
Please note this copy has some light creases and light scuffs on the edges of the covers
ISBN : 9780140449129
Size: Paperback, 327 pages
Publisher: Penguin
Published: 2002