Gustave Flaubert’s erotically charged and psychologically acute portrayal of Emma Bovary caused a moral outcry on its publication in 1857. But, it was deemed so lifelike that many women insisted that they were the model for his heroine. Despite all the frantic claims to fame, Flaubert declared: “Madame Bovary, c’est moi.”

Now Bovary has a facelife - or perhaps a footlift - thanks to shoe designer Manolo Blahnik and Penguin Designer Classic Books. In celebration of their 60th birthday, Penguin asked Blahnik and four other artisans - designer and architect Ron Arad (The Idiot), fashion designer Paul Smith (Lady Chatterly’s Lover), video artist Sam Taylor-Wood (Tender is the Night), and graphic design partnership Fuel (Crime and Punishment) - to design new book covers for old classics. Three of the five books are sold out at the moment, but more are on the way.

The designer covers have worked well for sales, and it could be that each book represents one way to own a designer product at a minimal price. Blahnik’s book, Madame Bovary, goes for £100.00 ($190.93US). Don’t gasp! His strappy little sexy sandals with jeweled embellishments shown here, exclusive to Neiman Marcus, go for $830.00US (£434.64).

Oh, but Bovary would have loved ‘em!