Madame Bovary: 150th Anniversary

Gustave Flaubert

Dec 2001 · Sold by Penguin

About this ebook

For daring to peer into the heart of an adulteress and enumerate its contents with profound dispassion, the author of Madame Bovary was tried for "offenses against morality and religion." What shocks us today about Flaubert's devastatingly realized tale of a young woman destroyed by the reckless pursuit of her romantic dreams is its pure artistry: the poise of its narrative structure, the opulence of its prose (marvelously captured in the English translation of Francis Steegmuller), and its creation of a world whose minor figures are as vital as its doomed heroine. In reading Madame Bovary, one experiences a work that remains genuinely revolutionary almost a century and a half after its creation.

Ratings and reviews

I once read that when Flaubert showed the draft to his friends, they suggested he dump it in the fire. Nevertheless, I am so glad he did not, for it is one of my top 25 favorites of all time. The reader must consider the time in which this book was written but also, he or she can be amused by the similarities it displays in terms of the aspirations and frustrations of many women. And maybe men, if they are married to a boring and mediocre man.

About the author

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