Guy de Maupassant (1850-1893)
French Short-Story Writer and Novelist
Guy de Maupassant was an extemely prolific short-story writer, famous for ‘Boule de suif’ (‘Ball of Fat’) and ‘The Necklace’ (‘La Parure’.) His best novels include Pierre and Jean and Bel-Ami. He was greatly influenced by Gustave Flaubert.
He was born on August 5, 1850 in a Norman chateau of Miromesnil, northern France. His parents separated when he was 11 years old, which might have led him to fear marriage and to an extent, concern about loneliness and persecution.
He was educated at Rouen, expelled from school and went to study law in Paris. In 1870 the Franco-Prussian War began between France and Germany. De Maupassant’s studies were interrupted, and aged 20, he became a soldier. After the war he joined the civil service and under the influence of his mother’s friend, Gustave Flaubert, started to write short stories. He became associates with advocates of Naturalism like Émile Zola.
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Works by Guy de Maupassant:
- Ball of Fat 1880
- The House of Madame Tellier 1881
- Mademoiselle Fifi 1882
- A Woman’s Life (Une Vie), novel 1883
- The Necklace, short story, 1884
- Miss Harriet 1884
- Bel-Ami, novel 1885
- Pierre and Jean, novel 1888
