Madeleine Férat is an 1868 novel by the French writer Émile Zola. It was his fourth novel, written immediately after Thérèse Raquin, which had been his first commercial and artistic success. As was common with Zola novels, Madeleine Férat appeared initially in serial form (in L'Evénement Illustrée, from September 2 to October 20, 1868) under the title La Honte (The Shame/Disgrace). It was then published by Albert Lacroix as a single volume under its present title, and with a dedication to the painter Manet. Madeleine Férat is a novelistic adaptation of an 1865 play by Zola that had not been accepted for production. The story deals with a beautiful woman in love with her husband Guillaume, but she is also still hopelessly and obsessively attracted to her former lover Jacques. This obsession leads to the destruction of Madeleine's marriage, and eventually drives her to suicide, while her husband, for his part, goes insane. Source: Wikipedia (en)