Gemma is the bored, pretty second wife of Charlie Bovery, the reluctant stepmoth
er of his children and the bete-noire of his ex-wife. Gemma's sudden windfall an
d distaste for London take them across the Channel to Normandy, where the charms
of French country living soon wear off. Is it a coincidence that Gemma Bovery h
as a name rather like Flaubert's notorious heroine? Is it by chance that, like M
adame Bovary, Gemma is bored, adulterous, and a bad credit risk? Is she inevitab
ly doomed? These questions consume Gemma's neighbour, the intellectual baker, Jo
ubert.
Denying voyeurism, but nevertheless noting every change in the fit of
her jeans, every addition to Gemma's wardrobe, her love-bites and lovers, Jouber
t, with the help of the heroine's diaries, follows her path towards ruin. Adulte
ry and its consequences. Disappointment and deception.
The English in France.
Fat and slim. Then and now.
Many familiar ingredients of the novel are given
new life in Gemma Bovery's unique graphic form. Like Posy Simmond's legendary c
artoon strips featuring the Weber family, Gemma Bovery was published in weekly p
arts in the Guardian.
