Madame Bovary by Gustave Flaubert (CD)

Translated by Eleanor Marx-Aveling

Emma Bovary is a sensuous, sentimental young woman whose romantic ideals make her dissatisfied with her humdrum married life. Attempting to escape into an exciting world of passion and dreams, she drifts into sordid affairs with Rodolphe Boulanger and Léon Dupuis. The first of these lovers, an older man, dominates the affair, while the second, inexperienced and young, is dominated. The eventual collapse of Emma’s romantic dreams is inevitable, and her disillusionment leads ultimately to her doom.

A brilliant psychological portrait, Madame Bovary searingly depicts the human mind in search of transcendence. Acclaimed as a masterpiece upon its publication in 1857, it catapulted Flaubert to the ranks of the world's greatest novelists and ushered in a new age of realism in literature.

REVIEWS

“It still astonishes. If one were to ask, ‘World, which is the most perfect novel ever written?’ the world would immediately answer: Madame Bovary. “—Washington Post Book World

“Simon Vance's leisurely reading mirrors the pace of small-town life, and his clear, gentle voice, with its lovely timbre, seems especially suited to delivering the text's many descriptive passages….Particularly amusing is his portrayal of Monsieur Homais, the voluble village chemist who fancies himself a learned man, and this brings some welcome comic relief to an otherwise tragic story.”—AudioFile

“Madame Bovary is like the railroad stations erected in its epoch: graceful, even floral, but cast of iron.”—John Updike

GUSTAVE FLAUBERT (1821-1880), French novelist and one of the masters of nineteenth-century fiction, was born in Rouen, the second son of a noted physician. Beset by ill health and personal misfortune, he led a solitary life of rigid discipline, which was reflected in his writing by his obsession with finding le mot juste (exactly the right word). His first published novel was Madame Bovary (1857). When certain passages in Madame Bovary were judged to be offensive to public morals, Flaubert, his publisher, and his printer were tried but acquitted.