Madame Bovary by Gustave Flaubert

A beautiful classic about longing, expectation, and the dangerous distance between the life we have and the life we imagine.

First published in 1857, Gustave Flaubert’s Madame Bovary caused immediate controversy, yet went on to become one of the defining novels of French literature. At its center is Emma Bovary—a woman whose romantic ideals and dissatisfaction with provincial life lead her to search for passion, beauty, and escape beyond the confines of marriage and convention.

Emma remains one of literature’s most fascinating and complicated characters: romantic heroine, restless dreamer, flawed wife and mother, and a woman pushing against the limitations of the society surrounding her. Flaubert observes her with both sympathy and irony, creating a novel as psychologically compelling today as it was provocative in the nineteenth century.

This Wordsworth Classics edition makes a wonderful addition to a home library, whether chosen for the story itself or collected alongside other beautifully bound literary classics.

Book Details

• Madame Bovary
• Written by Gustave Flaubert
• Wordsworth Classics edition
• Classic 19th-century French literature
• Originally published in 1857
• A foundational work of literary realism
• Beautiful for reading, gifting, and collecting

Styling Notes

Books should never be on a shelf simply because their covers are pretty. Build a library around the stories, writers, places, and subjects that actually interest you.

Stack Madame Bovary alongside other literary classics on a bedside table, tuck it into a larger library, or leave it somewhere within reach. A good book makes a room more interesting precisely because someone might actually pull it from the shelf and start reading.