1856: Gustave Flaubert has Madame Bovary: Provincial Manners published in the Revue de Paris. After a month, he was dragged before the courts for "offense to public and religious morality and to good morals" and risk one year in jail.
More than 150 years after, Madame Bovary’s depiction of desire, disaffection and love is as poignant now as it was then, and this debut novel, considered as Flaubert's masterpiece, has become one of the most influential literary works in history.
Through archive footage and with the help of experts, this docudrama brings to life a striking trial that made Emma Bovary auniversal heroine, and revealed a lot about censorship andfree speech still ongoing issues.
Direction: Stéphane Miquel & Alban Vian
Production: Keren Production for France Télévisions
