Gustave Flaubert so scandalized readers with the publication of his first novel, Madame Bovary, he was put on trial for offending the public morality. This now-classic novel tells the story of a young country doctor's wife who seeks refuge from the boredom of her existence in love-affairs and romantic yearnings, ultimately finding herself doomed to disillusionment. Establishing the realistic novel in France, Madame Bovary remains a lasting fascination and a landmark in world literature.