Madame Bovary by Gustave Flaubert
Before there was Desperate Housewives or Sex and the City, there was Emma Bovary. Published in 1856, Madame Bovary is the novel that effectively invented modern realism. It caused a massive scandal upon release—Flaubert was literally put on trial for obscenity—because it dared to treat adultery not as a moral failing to be preached against, but as a symptom of a bored, unsatisfied life.
Dec 26, 2025