"Madame Bovary" was published on April 12th 1857. It provoked one of the most famous literary trials in history—Flaubert was accused of degrading public morals with his tale of adultery and female lasciviousness Gustave Flaubert: one of the defining figures of modern literature "Madame Bovary" was published on this day in 1857 ECON.ST “One's duty is to feel what is great, cherish the beautiful, and to not accept the conventions of society with the ignominy that it imposes upon us.” ―from MADAME BOVARY (1857) ignominy noun [U] LITERARY public embarrassment: The Workers' Coalition experienced the ignominy of total defeat in the last election.