Madame Bovary - Cliffs Notes Author:Gustave Flaubert, James L. Roberts Written by Gustave Flaubert in 1857, Madame Bovary was once condemned for its pointed telling of the protagonist's immoral behavior as she ignores her duties as wife and mother to pursue her superficial romantic ideals. However, many now claim a study of modern European and American fiction to be impossible without an acquaintance with this,... more » the forerunner and model of the realistic novel.« less