Best Short Stories by Guy De Maupassant
In his stories Guy de Maupassant (1850–1893) blended brilliantly realistic depictions of characters moving against carefully described backgrounds with an objectivity and universality that has earned him a place among the finest of all short-story writers. In this collection of seven of his most popular stories, each tale reflects both the author's intimate familiarity with Paris and the provinces in the Belle Époque, as well as a non-judgmental humanism that is one of Maupassant's most attractive qualities. Included in this volume are his celebrated masterpiece "Boule de Suif," along with six other finely crafted selections: "La Parure," "Mademoiselle Fifi," "La Maison Tellier," "La Ficelle," "Miss Harriet," and "Le Horla. The stories are printed in French with excellent new word-for-word English translations on the facing pages. Students of both French and English will find here an excellent resource for upgrading their language skills. Admirers of fine literature will enjoy the conciseness, strength, and rigorous economy that characterize Maupassant's art.
Guy de Maupassant was born in Normandy in 1850. At 20 he served in the Franco-Prussian War, then studied writing with his mother's friend Gustav Flaubert (perhaps believing rumors, which persist, that Flaubert was his father). In 1880 he published his first story, Boule de Suif, which was hailed as a masterpiece. He quit his civil service job and soon published the collection, La Maison Tellier. He would go on to publish 300 stories and six novels, including Bel-Ami and Pierre et Jean, while living the life of a bon vivant. In the late 1880s, however, he began to show signs of syphilitic mental illness, and in 1891, was institutionalized after a suicide attempt. He died in a mental asylum in 1893. Charlotte Mandell has won the Modern Language Association Prize in translation. Among other titles she has translated for The Art of the Novella series are Marcel Proust's The Lemoine Affair, Guy de Maupassant's The Horla, and Gustave Flaubert's A Simple Heart.
| SKU | Unavailable |
| ISBN 13 | 9780486289182 |
| ISBN 10 | 0486289184 |
| Title | Best Short Stories |
| Author | Guy De Maupassant |
| Series | Dover Dual Language French Ser |
| Condition | Unavailable |
| Binding Type | Paperback |
| Publisher | Dover Publications Inc. |
| Year published | 2000-02-01 |
| Number of pages | 256 |
| Cover note | Book picture is for illustrative purposes only, actual binding, cover or edition may vary. |
| Note | Unavailable |