Madame Bovary

Madame Bovary tells the story of Emma Bovary, a beautiful but dissatisfied woman trapped in her marriage to a mediocre country doctor and frustrated by the monotony of provincial life. Yearning for passion, luxury, and romance beyond her reach, she immerses herself in sentimental novels and embarks on affairs and reckless spending that lead to disappointment and devastating consequences. Gustave Flaubert’s psychologically incisive and realistic portrayal of Emma’s desires and downfall sparked moral controversy upon its original publication in 1857 and has since become one of the greatest novels of the 19th century.

This edition, translated by Geoffrey Wall, includes an introduction and preface that illuminate the novel’s themes of femininity and modernity and is beautifully presented in Penguin’s Clothbound Classics series.

“Madame Bovary is like the railroad stations erected in its epoch: graceful, even floral, but cast of iron.” — John Updike