Book Description
Set amid the stifling atmosphere of nineteenth-century bourgeois France, Madame Bovary is at once an unsparing depiction of a woman's gradual corruption and a savagely ironic study of human stupidity. Provocative and deeply tragic, it is "possibly the most beautifully written book ever composed" (Frank O'Connor).
Translated by Mildred Marmur
With a New Introduction by Robin Morgan
Madame Bovary FROM THE PUBLISHER
As a provocative tale of passion and complacency, ideals and self-delusions, Madame Bovary (1857) remains a milestone in European fiction. In telling his story of Emma Bovaryﾽa farmerﾽs daughter who, with girlhood dreams fuelled by sensational novels, marries a provincial doctorﾽFlaubert inaugurated a literary mode that would be called Realism. But so exacting were Flaubertﾽs standards of authenticity that his portrayal of the breakdown of Emmaﾽs marriage, and the frankness with which he treats her adulterous liaisons, scandalized many of his contemporaries. Yet to others, the mix of painful introspection, emotional blindness, and cynical self-seeking that distinguishes his characters made the novel instantly recognizable as a work of genius. It is a novel fixed upon the idea of romanceﾽof the need for Romanceﾽin the face of day-to-day banalities. It is a theme that is ironic insofar as the exquisite clarity of Flaubertﾽs prose serves to hauntingly underline the futility of the heroineﾽs ultimate tragedy.
SYNOPSIS
Madame Bovary is the story of a beautiful young woman who marries a luckless and loutish country doctor. She attempts to escape the narrow confines of her life through a series of passionate affairs, hoping to find in other men the romantic ideal she has always dreamed about. Her recklessness comes back to haunt her, however, and the strong-willed and independent Emma finds herself in a desperate fight for existence.
The handsome volumes in The Collectors Library present great works of world literature in a handy hardback format. Printed on high-quality paper and bound in real cloth, each complete and unabridged volume has a specially commissioned afterword, brief biography of the author and a further-reading list. This easily accessible series offers readers the perfect opportunity to discover, or rediscover, some of the world's most endearing literary works.
The volumes in The Collector's Library are sumptuously produced, enduring editions to own, to collect and to treasure.
Art & Photography
Book Info
