A treasure of french litterature and the original annotated manuscripts are now available to all online.
According to the article on
Télérama (in french) :
"The entire manuscript of "Madam Bovary", scanned and transcribed digitally, is available since last wednesday on internet. The result of 10 years of work led by the University and the Municipal Library of the city of Rouen, revealing all Flaubert's attention to detail.
On the site
www.bovary.fr, the entire novel is available with a two-part navigation : on one side, the scanned original manuscript ; on the other side, the digital transcription, with all the corrections and notes of the author. One hundred thirty volunteers from a dozen countries, of all ages and professions, were recruted for the transcription which took two and a half years, between 2003 and 2005. Each page represents the equivalent of half a day to a full day of study, Flaubert's handwriting being difficult to read and sown with barred text."
This is a brilliant initiative, opening up vast new possibilities for students, scholars, and interested readers everywhere. Let's hope many more will follow this example.