Gustave Flaubert (12 December 1821—8 May 1880) was a French novelist, considered the preeminent exponent of the realist school of French literature and best known for his masterpiece, Madame Bovary (1857), a realistic portrayal of bourgeois life, which led to a trial on charges of the novel's alleged immorality. Fay Weldon (1931–2023) was an English author, essayist and playwright. Her novels include The Life and Loves of a She-Devil (1983). Her adaptation of Flaubert's Madame Bovary, subtitled Breakfast with Emma, was staged by Shared Experience in 2003.