 
                
                        Madame Bovary and independent women
Episodes from Flaubert's Madame Bovary, published in 1856, are set alongside other descriptions of independent women by DH Lawrence, Margaret Atwood, Ibsen and Emily Dickinson.
Actors Emma Fielding and Alex Jennings read from the novel Gustave Flaubert first published in 1856, which depicted the life of a provincial wife trying to escape a life she finds banal and restricting. Public prosecutors attacked it for obscenity when it was serialised in the Revue de Paris but after the author's acquittal it became a best-seller. Its themes of infidelity, guilt, remorse, the struggle to find independence are echoed in other extracts by writers including Lord Byron, Emily Dickinson, Henrik Ibsen, D.H. Lawrence, Maurice Riordan, Margaret Atwood and Edna St Vincent Millay, alongside a variety of musical examples.
Producer: Juan Carlos Jaramillo
Readings:
Madame Bovary by Gustave Flaubert, read by Emma Fielding
Madame Bovary (poem), by Maurice Riordan, read by Alex Jennings
Madame Bovary by Gustave Flaubert, read by Emma Fielding
Lady Chatterley’s Lover by D.H. Lawrence, read by Alex Jennings
Love by Emily Dickinson, read by Emma Fielding
House of Mirth by Edith Wharton, read by Alex Jennings
A Doll’s House by Henrik Ibsen, read by Emma Fielding and Alex Jennings
Bored by Margaret Atwood, read by Emma Fielding
Madame Bovary by Gustave Flaubert, read by Alex Jennings
for women who are ‘difficult to love’ by Warsan Shire, read by Emma Fielding
Rendezvous by Edna St Vincent Millay, read by Alex Jennings
Up Scoble by Robert Herrick, read by Emma Fielding
Madame Bovary by Gustave Flaubert, read by Emma Fielding and Alex Jennings
When We Two Parted by Lord Byron, read by Emma Fielding
Madame Bovary by Gustave Flaubert, read by Alex Jennings
Mariana by Alfred, Lord Tennyson, read by Emma Fielding
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Music Played
Timings (where shown) are from the start of the programme in hours and minutes
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    IntroductionRead by Georgia Mann ![]() 00:01 00:01Edvard GriegWedding day at Troldhaugen, arr for orchestra by FJ Breuer (from 'Lyric pieces', Book 8 No6) Orchestra: ѿý Scottish Symphony Orchestra. Conductor: Jerzy Maksymiuk.- Naxos 8550864.
- 11.
 Gustave FlaubertMadame Bovary, read by Emma Fielding ![]() 00:03 00:03Giacomo PucciniO Soave Fanciulla, from La bohème Singer: Rolando Villazón. Singer: Anna Netrebko. Orchestra: Staatskapelle Dresden. Conductor: Nicola Luisotti.- DG 4776600.
- 1.
 Maurice RiordanMadame Bovary, read by Alex Jennings Gustave FlaubertMadame Bovary, read by Emma Fielding ![]() 00:09 00:09Ralph Vaughan WilliamsSymphony No. 3, Pastoral, 4th movement, Lento Orchestra: Hallé. Conductor: Sir Mark Elder.- HALLE CDHLL7540.
- 5.
 D.H. LawrenceLady Chatterley's Lover, read by Alex Jennings ![]() 00:15 00:15Clara SchumannThree Romances , Op. 11 No. 1 in B flat minor Performer: Hélène Boschi.- Calliope CAL9211.
- 10.
 Emily DickinsonLove, read by Emma Fielding ![]() 00:18 00:18Charlie ParkerYardbird Suite Performer: Charlie Parker Septet.- Classics Classics 980.
- 8.
 Edith WhartonHouse of Mirth, read by Alex Jennings ![]() 00:22 00:22Leos JanáčekI'm always wondering (from Katya Kabanova) Singer: Cheryl Barker. Singer: Victoria Simmonds. Orchestra: Welsh National Opera Orchestra. Conductor: Carlo Rizzi.- Chandos CHAN 3145.
- 8.
 Henrik IbsenA Dolls House, read by Emma Fielding and Alex Jennings ![]() 00:28 00:28Hildur GuðnadóttirHeima (ѿý) Performer: Hildur Guðnadóttir. Performer: Skúli Sverrisson.- TOUCH TO.96.
- 6.
 Margaret AttwoodBored, read by Emma Fielding ![]() 00:34 00:34Fanny MendelssohnString Quartet in E Flat, 2nd movement, Allegretto Performer: Fanny Mendelssohn Quartet.- Troubadisc TRO-CD 01418.
- 2.
 Gustave FlaubertMadame Bovary, read by Alex Jennings ![]() 00:39 00:39Miles DavisBlue in Green Performer: Miles Davis Sextet.- Columbia C6K65833.
- 5.
 Warsan Shirefor women who are 'difficult to love', read by Emma Fielding ![]() 00:45 00:45George Frideric HandelSon nata a lagrimar, from Giulio Cesare in Egitto Singer: Philippe Jaroussky. Singer: Nathalie Stutzmann. Ensemble: Orfeo 55. Conductor: Nathalie Stutzmann.- Erato 08256 462317.
- 18.
 Edna St Vincent MillayRendezvous, read by Alex Jennings ![]() 00:52 00:52Osvaldo GolijovTenebrae (version for string quartet) Performer: Calidore String Quartet.- Signum Classics SIGCD551.
- 8.
 Robert HerrickUp Scoble, read by Emma Fielding Gustave FlaubertMadame Bovary, read by Emma Fielding and Alex Jennings ![]() 00:59 00:59Reynaldo HahnA Chloris Performer: Daniel Hope. Performer: Simon Crawford‐Phillips.- DG 4779301.
- 18.
 Lord ByronWhen We Two Parted, read by Emma Fielding ![]() 01:03 01:03Giuseppe VerdiAddio del passato, from La Traviata Performer: Maria Callas. Orchestra: Orchestra Sinfonica di Torino della RAI. Conductor: Gabriele Santini.- EMI Classics  3 95931 2.
- 12.
 Gustave FlaubertMadame Bovary, read by Alex Jennings ![]() 01:07 01:07W.A. MozartMass in C minor K427 (Great, unfinished), Kyrie Performer: Camilla Tilling (soprano), Gabrieli Consort and Players, Paul McCreesh (conductor).- DG 4779176.
- 1.
 Alfred, Lord TennysonMariana, read by Emma Fielding ![]() 01:11 01:11Frédéric Chopin24 Preludes, Op28 No4 in E minor Performer: Alexandre Tharaud.- Harmonia Mundi HMC901982.
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 Broadcasts- Sun 12 Dec 2021 17:30ѿý Radio 3
- Thu 22 Dec 2022 18:15ѿý Radio 3
 
 
            