Madame Bovary (1949): Film vs Book

About the film

A doctor's wife seeks romance and luxury and pays a price.

How close is it to the book?

The film frames the story as a trial of the author, which the book does not do.

Read or watch first?

The novel is the model of realism.

What the book gives you

Madame Bovary by Gustave Flaubert

A masterful, psychologically sharp portrait that remains startlingly modern.

Who will like it: Readers who like precise, beautifully crafted classics about longing.