July 2021 Catalogue

P r e • 1 9 0 0 L i t e r a t u r e 7 “Bovary C’est Moi” 5. FLAUBERT, Gustave. Madame Bovary. Moeurs de Province. Paris, 1857. Two volumes. 12mo, late 19th- century half red cloth, custom cloth slipcase. $10,500. Click for more info Rare first edition, first issue in book form, of Flaubert’s literary masterpiece, in marbled boards by Thierry de Petit-Simier. Upon publication of Madame Bovary , both Flaubert and his publisher were brought to trial on charges of immorality and narrowly escaped conviction. Although purportedly based in part on the circumstances of Flaubert’s friend Louise Pradier, the author’s claim that “Madame Bovary is myself,” with his unrelenting objectivity and deep compassion for his characters, earned him a reputation as the great master of the Realist school of French literature. First issue , with misspelling of “Senard” as “Senart” on dedication page. With half titles; with 36-page publisher’s catalogue, in its earliest state, bound in at rear of Volume I. Text in French. A fine copy of this masterpiece of world literature. “She wanted to die, but she also wanted to live in Paris.”