Last updated on 12 May 2026
Mrs. Bovary on the web is a complete edition of the manuscripts made by Gustave Flaubert to write one of his most important works.
It is an unprecedented dive, open to all internet users, into the heart of a literary creation process. We can never thank enough the municipal library of Rouen which has the original manuscripts of this work and this universal sharing via the web.
Ms Bovary on the web is the result ofa titanic ant work that lasted several years, almost ten years, and calls on researchers, digital specialists and volunteers. It was first necessary to analyse the narrative sequences and then to make a complete classification of the drafts and manuscripts . It was then necessary to digitise all the documents with great care. Few writers have left such a large volume of archives. More than 15,000 files make up this edition. Flaubert was a relentless correction and rewriting. He will thus make several dozen drafts of the same folio to arrive at the final folio. This work as a literary archaeologist then had to be formatted and online after being corrected and validated.
10 years at the bottom but the result is there. A formidable universal resource open and available to researchers, students, enthusiasts and lovers of literature from all over the world.
This full edition on the web is incredibly rich and offers many modes of consultation. In addition to a powerful search engine for the complete work, Ms Bovary on the web offers two main modes of access.
You will be able to browse through the material edition.
You will be able to browse through the different manuscripts that make up the edition: (plan and scenarios, drafts, final autograph manuscript, copyist’s manuscript).
You will also be able to consult the genetic edition. Probably the most interesting mode of consultation.
This mode displays for each passage of the work all drafts, versions and corrections of a text. From the draft to the final text published.
This is complemented by numerous lighting and frames that enrich the study of the work. For example, you will have access to a map of the villages and places mentioned in Flaubert's novel.
All you have to do is immerse yourself in this impressive work by Master Flaubert. The digital technology used wisely makes it possible to achieve wonders, including restoring the emotion behind the technological prowess.
Link: Mrs. Bovary on the Web
English