Madame Bovary
Charles Bovary, médecin de campagne, veuf d'une mégère, fait lors d'une tournée la rencontre du père Rouault et de sa fille, Emma. Après leur mariage, Emma reste insatisfaite et rêve d'une nouvelle vie. Son premier amant lui donne le goût du luxe et fait miroiter un avenir à deux avant de l'abandonner. Une fois remise, Emma continue à faire de folles dépenses, qui peu à peu la mènent à la ruine et au déshonneur.
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What you might want to know about Madame Bovary
The questions readers send us most often, answered without spoilers.
Emma Bovary, married to a kind, dull country doctor in Normandy, looks for the romantic life her novels promised her. She finds affairs, dressmakers, and creditors. The novel walks her toward the bill at the end.
Yes. Madame Bovary was first published in 1856 and is in the public domain. Free editions of older translations are available legally through Project Gutenberg. Modern translations remain copyrighted.
Yes. Gustave Flaubert was prosecuted for obscenity over Madame Bovary in 1857. He was acquitted, and the controversy contributed to the novel's success. It has remained continuously in print and is widely taught.
Madame Bovary was written by Gustave Flaubert, published in 1991 by AST.
Madame Bovary is 128 pages in standard print editions, though page counts vary slightly between hardcover, paperback, and large-print formats.
At an average reading pace of about 250 words per minute, Madame Bovary takes most readers 2 to 3 hours to finish.
Madame Bovary is a standalone novel by Gustave Flaubert, not part of a series.
Madame Bovary is available in hardcover, paperback, ebook, and audiobook formats from Amazon, Bookshop.org, ThriftBooks, and most major bookstores.
