Madame Bovary. Provincial Lives
London: Penguin, 2006. 1st Edition Thus. Octavo, publisher's blue cloth, spine and upper board stamped in white, marigold endpapers, original illustrated dust jacket, printed plexi slipcase.
Penguin Books special limited edition of the 19th-century novelist’s masterpiece with a dust jacket designed by shoe designer Manolo Blanhik. To celebrate the 60th anniversary of Penguin Classics, the publishing house commissioned five creative luminaries from various industries to redesign influential literary works. Openly inspired by the mid-century illustration of Cecil Beaton, Blahnik’s painting features protagonist Emma Bovary and her lover Léon Dupuis from the waist down and cavorting in deshabille. According to Blanhik, "I wanted to come up with something light, sensual...something frivolous, because this is a novel about the dangers of frivolity…I usually focus on one part of the foot—the shoe. For this project, I had to consider a whole scene, there had to be a context, which is new for me. But I managed to sneak in a pair of shoes anyway. She wore good shoes." Following his work on the book, Blahnik themed his next seasonal footwear collection entirely around Madame Bovary. Originally published in France in 1857. Translated from the original French by Geoffrey Wall. Number 426 of 1000 copies. Fine in unclipped dust jacket and original plexi slipcase. Item #12939
$300.00