Publishing, the Rules of the Trade
Madame Bovary
Gustave Flaubert, 1857
In 1857, Gustave Flaubert defended his successful novel, Madame Bovary, against accusations of offending public morality. The court acquitted the famous author who was close to the government of that time. The judges recognised that Flaubert had respected public morality and that the sole aim of his novel had not been ‘to encourage sexual licence’.