description: Madame Bovary is the debut novel of French writer Gustave Flaubert, published in 1856. The character lives beyond her means in order to escape the banalities and emptiness of provincial life. When the novel was first serialized in La Revue de Paris between 1 October 1856 and 15 December 1856, public prosecutors attacked the novel for obscenity. The resulting trial in January 1857 made the story notorious. After Flaubert's acquittal on 7 February 1857, Madame Bovary became a bestseller in April 1857 when it was published in two volumes. A seminal work of literary realism, the novel is now considered Flaubert's masterpiece, and one of the most influential literary works in history.
language: English
title: Madame Bovary
titlecomplete: Madame Bovary
characters: Monsieur Homais, Léon Dupuis, Emma Bovary, Rodolphe Boulanger, Berthe Bovary, Charles Bovary
genres: France, Fiction, Literature, Romance, Historical Fiction, French Literature, 19th Century, Classic Literature, Novels, Classics
ratings_count: 322267
places: Rouen, France, Yonville-l'Abbaye, Tostes
publisher: HarperCollins Publishers