Madame Bovary - Hardcover

Madame Bovary is the story of a beautiful young woman who marries a luckless country doctor. She tries to escape the narrow confines of her life through a series of passionate affairs, hoping to find in other men the romantic ideal she always dreamed about. Flaubert's daring description of adultery and sinfulness caused a national scandal when it was first published, and this masterpiece of realist literature has lost none of its impact today. Translated by Eleanor Marx-Aveling.

Gustave Flaubert was born in Rouen in 1821. He initially studied to become a lawyer, but gave it up after a bout of ill-health, and devoted himself to writing. After travelling extensively, and working on many unpublished projects, he completed Madame Bovary in 1856. This was published to great scandal and acclaim, and Flaubert became a celebrated literary figure. His reputation was cemented with Salammbo (1862) and Sentimental Education (1869). He died in 1880, probably of a stroke, leaving his last work, Bouvard et Pecuchet, unfinished.