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 shallowness and stupidity. Her character is remarkable only for an unusual deficiency of natural feeling.' Thus Mary McCarthy, in her memorable Foreword to this Signet Classic edition, describes Emma Bovary, whose ill - starred pursuit of tawdry romantic dreams shapes Flaubert's great novel. FROM THE PUBLISHER - 'She is a very ordinary middle - class woman, with banal expectations of life and an urge to dominate her surroundings.

Newly Translated From The French By Mildred Marmur.Foreword By Mary McCarthy. The edition is limited to 750 hand-numbered copies signed by the translator, the introducer and the artist. In it, he explains not only why Madame Bovary is ‘the perfect novel’, but also why ‘the novelist of today continues to write in Flaubert’s shadow’. This approach immerses readers in the ambiance of 19th-century France.Ĭompleting the edition is an exclusive new introduction specially commissioned from Norwegian novelist Karl Ove Knausgård. The acclaimed translation selected for this edition is by Adam Thorpe, and only uses syntax, vocabulary and expressions that were in general use up until the 1850s, when Madame Bovary was first published. The result is artwork that is subtly abstracted, intimate and evocative. Nushka staged the scenes she chose to paint for this edition using live models, props and costumes. Originally painted in oils, Nushka’s subtle, sensual compositions are infused with a blend of American and European influences. More than 150 years on, Madame Bovary’s depiction of desire, disaffection and love is as poignant now as it was then. A masterpiece in realism, the novel, subtitled Provincial Morals, was controversial when it was first serialised in 1856, and lead to Flaubert standing trial for obscenity. The story follows Emma, a rural doctor’s wife, who yearns to escape the banality of her life.

Limited to just 750 copies, each has been signed by the introducer, the translator and the artist. Illustrated with sensual oil paintings by Nushka, and beautifully bound in Douppion silk, this exquisite edition mirrors the perfection of the writing inside. London - Gustave Flaubert’s masterpiece Madame Bovary is The Folio Society’s stunning new limited edition.

Madame bovary first edition