Madame Bovary, by Gustave Flaubert

Madame Bovary, a book published in 1857, tells the story of Emma Bovary, the wife of a doctor whose passions and romantic ideas lead her to betray her husband, accumulate debts, and engage in lies. The work caused public scandal, as it included sexualized content and adultery themes.
Although the author and his publishers proposed to remove some passages, this was not enough, and Gustave Flaubert was taken to court for "offenses against public and religious morality and good customs." Although public opinion believed that Flaubert's work would inevitably lead to the decline of public decency, the jury acquitted him, and Madame Bovary was republished in full, selling 15,000 copies in two months.

Gustave Flaubert

The French novelist was born on December 12, 1821, in Rouen, France. He studied Law, but the early symptoms of a nervous illness led him to abandon his studies. His father did not approve of his literary tendencies, but after his death and with his inheritance, Flaubert devoted himself freely to writing. In 1851, he began writing "Madame Bovary," the book that became his masterpiece.