In Flaubert's debut novel, Emma, a beautiful young farm girl, marries the older, established Dr. Charles Bovary in an attempt to escape her rural life. Though at first she is hopeful and excited to begin her life with Dr. Bovary, married life in a small town doesn't offer Emma the romance and contentment she had been waiting for. She quickly becomes bored and lonely, finding comfort only in her romance novels. After a night of luxury and elegance sparks a desire for more, she begins a series of affairs and extravagant purchases to satisfy her growing appetite—until the walls begin to close in, lovers leave and debtors emerge. Though the story was originally considered so controversial that an obscenity trial was brought against it, Flaubert's humanizing portrait of passion and desire has compelled readers since 1856.

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