Madame Bovary
by Gustave Flaubert · 1857
Buy on AmazonWe were in class when the head-master came in, followed by a "new fellow," not wearing the school uniform, and a school servant carrying a large desk. Those who had been asleep woke up, and every one rose as if just surprised at his work. The head-master made a sign to us to sit down. Then, turning to the class-master, he said to him in a low voice— "Monsieur Roger, here is a pupil whom I recommend to your care; he'll be in the second. If his work and conduct are satisfactory, he will go into one of the upper classes, as becomes his age." The "new fellow," standing in the corner behind the door so that he could hardly be seen, was a country lad of about fifteen, and taller than any of us.…
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The Well-Educated Mind: Novels · tlinwright.com
"Flaubert’s “Madame Bovary” for French A-level. Flaubert’s slogan “le style est tout”... became part of the foundations of my sense of taste."
By the Book: Edward St. Aubyn · nytimes.com
"I've got to read the Lydia Davis translation of "Madame Bovary." I'm having physical cravings for it."
By the Book: Jia Tolentino · nytimes.com
"I also love Henry James and Gustave Flaubert, who wrote the first feminist novel in "Madame Bovary." I love that period of literature; it's like hyper-elegant gossip."
By the Book: Kim Gordon · nytimes.com
"I'm curious how others deal with these problems. In the case of Davis, extremely well."
By the Book: Mark Kurlansky · nytimes.com
By the Book: Mary Gaitskill · nytimes.com
"The last great book I read. . . . It was probably the Lydia Davis translation of “Madame Bovary.”"
By the Book: Sarah Ruhl · nytimes.com