Read by Jenny Agutter (Abridged: 2hrs 25mins)

Gustave Flaubert’s intimate portrait of Emma Bovary’s passionate yearnings for love and excitement, and his scrutiny of the dull provincial world in which she is trapped, create one of the finest French novels of the 19th century. His deep exploration of Emma’s emotions and motivations takes the reader inside her mind to long and suffer with her. The detailed descriptions of day to day life in Yonville-L’Abbaye provide a strong sense of authenticity – hence Madame Bovary is often termed the first ‘realist’ novel.