Over 150 years since its first publication the power of Madame Bovary remains undiminished. Stunningly translated by Adam Thorpe, this edition brings us closer to Flaubert's original. Weaned on sentimental novels, Emma Bovary longs for a life of luxury and high romance. She is married to a kind but mediocre country doctor and is plagued by expectations of something more, some more intense experience, some wider horizon if she could only find it. She seeks to escape from boredom in extravagant shopping sprees and eventually, adultery. But even her affairs bring her disappointment and so begins her descent into ruin and despair. First published in 1857, Madame Bovary is one of the richest novels ever written; a mille-feuille of nuance, subtlety and psychological acuity. Linguistically meticulous, Thorpe delicately transposes the rhythms of Madame Bovary bringing us closer to Flaubert. This stunningly translated edition of Madame Bovary is destined to become the definitive English translation for our time.