Gustave Flaubert 
Madame Bovary 

This collector’s edition is cleanly formatted for easy reading, 12 point Garamond, 1.15 spacing. ‘Emma is bored and wants excitement and makes a complete mess of her life. In the process she destroys the life of her very provincial husband who also happens to be a good man. The story is tragic and at times frustrating but well worth reading.’ 

After marrying Charles Bovary, an ordinary  country doctor, Emma Rouault hopes to have the adventurous life of passion and intrigue that she reads about in books. However, she is disappointed with her husband and her simple life. It is anything but the romantic excitement she longs for. In her desire to fulfill her dreams she travels down a winding path of adultery and deception.

When Madame Bovary  appeared in La Revue de Paris in October 1856, public prosecutors attacked it for obscenity. The resulting trial in January 1857 made the story notorious. After Flaubert’s acquittal in February 1857, Madame Bovary was published in book form and became an instant bestseller. The novel is considered Flaubert’s master-piece, and one of the most influential literary works in history. The British critic James Wood writes: “Flaubert(‘s)…influence is almost too familiar to be visible.”