<Tr> <Th> LC Class </Th> <Td> PS3573. A4347 B75 1992 </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Th> Followed by </Th> <Td> A Thousand Country Roads </Td> </Tr> <P> The Bridges of Madison County is a 1992 best - selling novel by Robert James Waller that tells the story of a married but lonely Italian - American woman (war bride) living on a 1960s Madison County, Iowa, farm . While her husband and children are away at the State Fair, she engages in an affair with a National Geographic photographer from Bellingham, Washington, who is visiting Madison County to create a photographic essay on the covered bridges in the area . The novel is presented as a novelization of a true story, but it is in fact entirely fictional . However, the author stated in an interview that there were strong similarities between the main character and himself . </P> <P> The novel is one of the bestselling books of the 20th century, with 60 million copies sold worldwide . It has also been adapted into a feature film in 1995 and a musical in 2013 . </P>

Is bridges of madison county a true story