Castigated for offending against public decency, Madame Bovary has rarely failed to cause a storm. For Flaubert`s contemporaries, the fascination came from the novelist`s meticulous account of provincial matters. For the writer, subject matter was subordinate to his anguished quest for aesthetic perfection. For his twentieth-century successors the formal experiments that underpin Madame Bovary look forward to the innovations of contemporary fiction. Flaubert`s protagonist in particular has never ceased to fascinate. Romantic heroine or middle-class neurotic, flawed wife & mother or passionate protester against the conventions of bourgeois society, simultaneously the subject of Flaubert`s admiration & the butt of his irony
- Emma Bovary remains one of the most enigmatic of fictional creations. Flaubert`s meticulous approach to the craft of fiction, his portrayal of contemporary reality, his representation of an unforgettable cast of characters make Madame Bovary one of the major landmarks of modern fiction.
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The Vintage Classics Europeans series
- with covers provided by textile design firm Wallace Sewell, these are must-have editions
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An elegant fable for the modern age, Louise de Vilmorin`s novella Madame de is a poignant tale of honour, deception & fate. This is the story of Madame de -`s earrings. It is a story of jewellery, of love, of denial, of pain, of delight, of society, that has the simplicity of a fairy tale, the elegance of an eighteenth century roman-a-clef & the particular echoing loneliness that is a phenomenon of the twentieth century: the circle of deceit that society allows proves fatal to the honesty of intense passion. This novella became The Earrings of Madame de, a 1952 film directed by Max Ophuls. Translated from the French by Duff Cooper, Louise de Vilmorin`s Madame de is published by Pushkin Press Louise de Vilmorin (1902-1969), born in her family`s chateau at Verrieres-le-Buisson, Essonne, was a French novelist & poet, & the most extraordinary of women. Married to a Hungarian count, her lovers included Antoine de Saint-Exupery, Orson Welles & Andre Malraux. But it was Duff Cooper, British Ambassador to France, during the 1940s, who was the love of her life, & the translator of this novella. John Julius Norwich, his son, describes in his moving afterword the menage a trois that he remembers as a child at the British Embassy in Paris. ...

Madame de Pompadour- Bisque Porcelain leaves all fine details unhidden. The originals of the busts were purchased at a provincial French auction, these replicas are exact down to the finest detail. We’ve always been attracted to the fine & subtle detail of bisque porcelain. Glazing tends to smooth over details & make things blander. Busts like these were en vogue in the first half of the 19th century, & often taken home by Grand Tourm travelers who were always on the lookout for authentic historical artifacts. 7 (L) x 9 (W) x 26 (H) cm If we do not have this item in stock we will order it for you from our supplier. Delivery generally takes 3 weeks within the UK. For overseas delivery queries please email sales@stanfords.co.uk ...

When Jeanne-Antoinette was nine, she was told by a fortune teller that she would one day become the mistress of the handsome young Louix XV
- from that day she was groomed to become `a morsel fit for a King`. Nancy Mitford lovingly tells the story of how the little girl rose, against a backdrop of savage social-climbing, intrigue, excess & high drama, to become the most powerful women of the eighteenth century French court, Le Pompadour.
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This important new series rediscovers the original heroes of cookery. Reissuing texts that for decades have been available only to collectors of old books, each title has been redesigned giving the original text an updated yet timeless look for today's reader. These classic voices convey the flavour of their times & yet are astonishingly relevant to the modern reader. With two more titles to follow in September, this series will establish itself as an exciting new source of reference & inspiration for all food lovers. First published in 1938, the original editor of Madame Prunier's Fish Cookery Book, Ambrose Heath, described it as 'a really thrilling book...that should take its place among the classics of the kitchen'. This is certainly as true today as when Madame Prunier first wrote her Advice on Buying fish & Elementary Rules for Cooking Fish. Simple but wonderful recipes for Savoury Butters & Sauces, Soups, Fresh-Water fish, Salt-Water Fish & Shellfish include such delights as Crayfish Barquettes, Clam Risotto, Devilled Herrings & Sole Souffle, fulfilling the original ambition of the book to 'keep all the cooks in Britain busy for some time'. ...

Years ago, Madame Verona & her husband built a home for themselves on a hill in a forest above a small village. There they lived in isolation, practising their music, & chopping wood to see them through the cold winters. When Mr Verona died, the locals might have expected that the legendary beauty would return to the village, but Madame Verona had enough wood to keep her warm during the years it would take to make a cello
- the instrument her husband loved
- & in the meantime she had her dogs for company. & then one cold February morning, when the last log has burned, Madame Verona sets off down the village path, with her cello & her memories, knowing that she will have no strength to climb the hill again. Poignant, precise & perfectly structured, this is a story of one woman`s tender & enduring love
- as a wife, & as a widow.


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SHORTLISTED FOR THE EDGE HILL SHORT STORY PRIZE 2018LONGLISTED FOR THE GORDON BURN PRIZE 2018WINNER OF THE EAST ANGLIAN BOOK AWARD FOR FICTIONMadame Zero is a remarkable collection of dark, sensuous stories set in sometimes conflicting landscapes
- rural, industrial, psychological
- all of which are hauntingly resonant with dread. Whether set in an apocalyptic storm, a local swimming pool, or a surgical theatre, Hall`s stories inhabit a hinterland between the natural & urban, the mundane & surreal, human & animal.

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Toby, a survivor of the man-made plague that has swept the earth, is telling stories. Stories left over from the old world, & stories that will determine a new one. Listening hard is young Blackbeard, one of the innocent Crakers, the species designed to replace humanity. Their reluctant prophet, Jimmy-the-Snowman, is in a coma, so they`ve chosen a new hero
- Zeb, the street-smart man Toby loves. As clever Pigoons attack their fragile garden & malevolent Painballers scheme, the small band of survivors will need more than stories.
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The story of the Trikkala is a strange one. Reported sunk in 1945, she sails into port one year later, barely afloat, her crew & valuable cargo missing. What happened during that year at sea? What secrets of betrayal & murderous greed were played out on the desolate islet of Maddon`s Rock? ...