Women's adultery provides many of the plots that run through 19th century European fiction. This book discusses how novels of adultery have been theorized, argues its own theoretical perspective, and analyzes two 'circumtexts' of the fiction of female adultery: its pre-history in 18th century Britain, and its decline during the Naturalist period in France. It is the first dedicated study of the theory of the novel of adultery, and of the representation of adultery in earlier British and later 19th century French fiction.