Translated with an Introduction and Notes by Lydia Davis. Emma Bovary is the original desperate housewife. Beautiful but bored, she is married to a provincial doctor yet harbors dreams of an elegant and passionate life. In an effort to make her life everything she believes it should be, she spends lavishly on clothes and on her home and embarks on two disappointing affairs. Soon heartbroken and crippled by debts, Emma takes drastic action with tragic consequences for her husband and daughter.
