A masterpiece by Julian Barnes

Flaubert's erotically charged and psychologically astute portrayal of an affair involving a married woman caused a moral uproar upon its publication in 1857. His heroine, Emma Bovary, is suffocated by the provincial lifestyle as the wife of a doctor. As a passionate reader of sentimental novels, she seeks escape in fantasies of great romance, in excessive consumption, and ultimately in infidelity. Yet even her affairs bring her disappointment, and when real life continues to fall short of her romantic expectations, the consequences are devastating. It was considered so lifelike that many women claimed to be the model for his heroine; however, Flaubert insisted: "Madame Bovary, c'est moi."

Translated with an introduction and notes by Geoffrey Wall

With a foreword by Michèle Roberts.