Madame Bovary

Madame Bovary, published in 1857, is one of the great novels of the French literary tradition and a masterwork of literary realism. Gustave Flaubert's portrait of Emma Bovary — a doctor's wife who dreams of romance, luxury, and escape from the crushing dullness of provincial Norman life — is both a scathing critique of romantic idealism and an extraordinarily compassionate study of human longing. Emma pursues her fantasies through a series of love affairs and reckless spending, each bringing her closer to ruin.

Flaubert's precise, jewel-like prose and his technique of free indirect style — slipping seamlessly between narrator and character's inner voice — were revolutionary in their time and remain deeply influential today. The novel was put on trial for obscenity when first serialised; Flaubert was acquitted, and the controversy only added to its fame. The English translation by Eleanor Marx-Aveling captures the cool, ironic beauty of Flaubert's original. The book is in the public domain and free to stream here with no account, no subscription, and no adverts, forever.