Madame Bovary is the first novel of Gustave Flaubert, serialised in a Paris review before it appeared in book form. It tells of Emma Bovary, the wife of a dull country doctor in provincial Normandy, who seeks romance and luxury in adultery and debt and is finally ruined and takes her own life. Flaubert was known for working over his sentences with extreme care, searching for the exact word. The work was prosecuted for offending public morals, but Flaubert was acquitted, and the trial increased its fame. It is regarded as a masterpiece of literary realism and an influence on the modern novel.
Before and after
- 28 December 1856Birth of Woodrow Wilson
- from 1857 to 1947Indian independence movement
- 1857Rise of Symbolism
- 1857Founding of Kuala Lumpur
- 1857Publication of Madame Bovary
- 1857Rise of spiritism
- 24 January 1857Founding of University of Calcutta
- 22 February 1857Birth of Robert Baden-Powell, 1st Baron Baden-Powell
- 22 February 1857Birth of Heinrich Hertz
More in Art, literature & culture
- 1792Publication of Dream of the Red Chamber
- 5 May 1821Founding of The Guardian
- 7 April 1837Publication of The Little Mermaid
- 21 February 1848Publication of The Communist Manifesto
- 18 September 1851Founding of The New York Times
- c. 1860sImpressionism
The era
This moment belongs to the Industrial era (1760 CE to 1914 CE), steam, factories and revolutions. You can also browse everything in the 19th century.