Henri Rene Albert Guy de Maupassant (1850-1893) was a popular 19th-century French writer. He is considered one of the fathers of the modern short story. A protege of Flaubert, Maupassant's short stories are characterized by their economy of style and their efficient effortless denouement.
This selection of twenty-seven stories shows Maupassant at his comic, cruel, and brilliant best. In addition to the poignant title story, it includes one of the most famous tales ever written, The Necklace , and Le Horla, an account of a disintegrating personality that chillingly parallels the author's own decline into madness. All the stories demonstrate his genius for invention and his ability to write unblinkingly about the absurdity of the human condition, supporting Henry James' claim that in the annals of story-telling, Maupassant stands `like a lion in the path'. ABOUT THE SERIES: For over 100 years Oxford World's Classics has made available the widest range of literature from around the globe. Each affordable volume reflects Oxford's commitment to scholarship, providing the most accurate text plus a wealth of other valuable features, including expert introductions by leading authorities, helpful notes to clarify the text, up-to-date bibliographies for further study, and much more.
Before succumbing to the insanity that ravaged his later life, Guy de Maupassant established a reputation as France's preeminent short story writer, an artist whose cynical and macabre visions paralleled those of Hoffmann and Poe, and directly influenced those of Ambrose Bierce, Mark Twain, and H.P. Lovecraft. His stories are nightmarescapes of psychopathy, corruption, and decadence, featuring a serial-killer judge, a maddening episode of cabin fever (which influenced The Shinning), a gruesome discovery during a night on the river, the inexplicable exodus of a man's walking furniture, the famous invisible vampire, the Horla, werewolves, haunted rooms, neglected ghosts, and vivid affairs of necrophilia. This unique and unrivalled edition of de Maupassant's best weird tales, fantasies, and mysteries includes critical introductions to each story, contextual information, and chilling illustrations that breathe life into his Gothic visions and bizarre fantasias.
Set in the Paris of society women, prostitutes and small-minded bourgeousie, and the isolated villages of rural Normandy that de Maupassant knew as a child, the thirty-three tales in this volume are among the most darkly humorous and brilliant short stories in nineteenth-century literature. They focus on the relationships between men and women, as in the poignant fantasy of 'A Parisian Affair', between brothers and sisters, and between masters and servants. Through these relationships, Maupassant explores the dualistic nature of the human character and his stories reveal both nobility, civility and generosity, and, in stories such as 'At Sea' and 'Boule de Suif', vanity, greed and hypocrisy. Maupassant's stories repeatedly lay humanity bare with deft wit and devastating honesty.
Opulence is sometimes deceiving“She removed the wraps from her shoulders before the glass, for a final view of herself in her glory. Suddenly she uttered a cry. Her necklace was not around...” - Guy de Maupassant, The Necklace Madame Mathilde Loisel is displeased: she cannot go to a fancy party because she doesn’t have anything to wear. Her husband tries to help her and gives her money to buy a new dress. She insists she also needs jewels so she borrows a diamond necklace from her friend, Madame Jeanne Forestier. After the party, Mathilde realizes that she lost the stunning necklace. ,This book has been professionally formatted for e-readers and contains a bonus book club leadership guide and discussion questions. We hope you’ll share this book with your friends, neighbors and colleagues and can’t wait to hear what you have to say about it.
Delve into the intellectual debates and cultural implications of language in Guy de Maupassant’s The Question of Latin, a narrative that offers a thoughtful and engaging examination of Latin’s role in education and societal values. In The Trip of Le Horla, Guy de Maupassant continues the exploration of the mysterious and supernatural, following the protagonist on a journey that intertwines with the enigmatic entity known as Le Horla. The narrative delves into themes of fear, the unknown, and the impact of supernatural forces on the human psyche. Maupassant’s atmospheric and suspenseful storytelling enhances the eerie and unsettling atmosphere of the tale.
New edition features 7 of the most popular tales of one of the greatest of all short-story writers. Included are "La Parure," "Mademoiselle Fifi," "La Maison Tellier," "La Ficelle," "Miss Harriet," "Boule de Suif" and "Le Horla," all reflecting Maupassant's intimate familiarity with Paris and the universality of his creations.
Romantic provocateur, flamboyant bohemian, precocious novelist, perfect poet—not to mention an inexhaustible journalist, critic, and man-about-town—Théophile Gautier is one of the major figures, and great characters, of French literature. In My Fantoms Richard Holmes, the celebrated biographer of Shelley and Coleridge, has found a brilliantly effective new way to bring this great bu too-little-known writer into English. My Fantoms assembles seven stories spanning the whole of Gautier’s career into a unified work that captures the essence of his adventurous life and subtle art. From the erotic awakening of “The Adolescent” through “The Poet,” a piercing recollection of the mad genius Gérard de Nerval, the great friend of Gautier’s youth, My Fantoms celebrates the senses and illuminates the strange disguises of the spirit, while taking readers on a tour of modernity at its most mysterious. ”What ever would the Devil find to do in Paris?” Gautier wonders. “He would meet people just as diabolical as he, and find himself taken for some naïve provincial…” Tapestries, statues, and corpses come to life; young men dream their way into ruin; and Gautier keeps his faith in the power of imagination: “No one is truly dead, until they are no longer loved.”