Madame Bovary by Gustave Flaubert and Eleanor Marx-Aveling

by Gustave Flaubert

Madame Bovary is a novel by French writer Gustave Flaubert, published in 1857.

This exquisite novel tells the story of one of the most compelling heroines in modern literature — Emma Bovary. Unhappily married to a devoted, clumsy provincial doctor, Emma revolts against the ordinariness of her life by pursuing voluptuous dreams of ecstasy and love. But her sensuous and sentimental desires lead her only to suffering corruption and downfall. A brilliant psychological portrait, Madame Bovary searingly depicts the human mind in search of transcendence.

Who is Madame Bovary? Flaubert's answer to this question was "Madame Bovary, c'est moi (It's me)." Acclaimed as a masterpiece upon its publication in 1857, The work catapulted Gustave Flaubert to the ranks of the world's greatest novelists.

424 pages, Kindle Edition

Published March 31, 2025

About the author

Gustave Flaubert was a French novelist. He has been considered the leading exponent of literary realism in his country and abroad. According to the literary theorist Kornelije Kvas, "in Flaubert, realism strives for formal perfection, so the presentation of reality tends to be neutral, emphasizing the values and importance of style as an objective method of presenting reality". He is known especially for his debut novel Madame Bovary (1857), his Correspondence, and his scrupulous devotion to his style and aesthetics. The celebrated short story writer Guy de Maupassant was a protégé of Flaubert.