'The Temptation of Saint Anthony' is a dramatic poem in prose (often referred as a novel) by the French author Gustave Flaubert. He spent his whole adult life working fitfully on the book. It takes as its subject the famous temptation faced by Saint Anthony the Great, in the Egyptian desert, a theme often repeated in medieval and modern art. It is written in the form of a play script, detailing one night in the life of Anthony the Great, during which he is faced with great temptations.