Showing results for "Guy de Maupassant" in Genre Fiction

Life has the capacity of great moments and attainment, of lives well lived, fulfilling for ourselves and for those we touch. But for others life is arduous. There is no spark to ignite the curiosity, to explore and achieve a stability and a growth to their lives. Indeed their lives, in their own eyes, become almost meaningless, their sense of themselves subsumed under a myriad of problems, whether real or imagined. Seismic events in a life might crush them; the loss of a loved one for instance. Coping is difficult, support hard to find and isolation abounds.

Guy de Maupassant is revered for his naturalistic fiction, which brilliantly captures flesh-and-blood characters as it evokes the most telling details of everyday life. Considered one of the finest French novels ever written, Bel Ami follows journalist Georges Duroy and his increasing stature among the Paris elite. With an immense thirst for power, Georges is not above an almost gleeful use of wealthy mistresses to achieve his ends.

Boule de Suif est une nouvelle incontournable de Guy de Maupassant, à la fois courte et percutante. L’histoire se déroule pendant la guerre franco-prussienne, alors qu’un groupe de voyageurs fuit Rouen, occupée par les Prussiens. Parmi eux, Boule de Suif, une prostituée au grand cœur, va se révéler bien plus courageuse et humaine que les bourgeois "respectables" qui l'entourent.

A snowbound coach. Ten strangers. One woman who doesn't fit in—and never tries to. In Boule de Suif, Guy de Maupassant doesn't just tell a story—he dissects society with a scalpel dipped in irony. The setting is wartime France, the passengers are a cross-section of "respectable" society, and the tension isn't just political, it's personal. Class, hypocrisy, and the polite savagery of moral convenience bubble just beneath the surface. She's not like them. And that's the problem. Or maybe the solution. She feeds them when they're hungry.

Guy de Maupassant is justly revered as one of the strongest proponents of the short story. The miniature gems he created are woven from the many worlds and strata of society that surrounded him. From feuds and revenge to tales of avarice and friendship de Maupassant is the master of all and second to none.

À dix-sept ans, radieuse, prête à toutes les joies, à tous les hasards, Jeanne quitte enfin le couvent. Dans le désœuvrement des jours et la solitude des espérances, de tous ses rêves, le plus impatient est celui de l'amour... Oh ! Elle en sait des choses sur le frémissement des cœurs, l'élan des âmes. Elle les a si souvent pressentis, espérés, ces bonheurs-là. Aussi, lorsqu'il paraît, le reconnaît-elle sans peine. L'être créé pour elle...

"Gli sembrò di essere davvero distinto, camminava in modo elegante. E il suo animo si riempì di una grande fiducia in sé stesso. Certo, tutte le porte gli sarebbero state spalancate, grazie a quella sua presenza, alla smania di avere successo, alla fermezza dei suoi propositi e al suo spirito d'indipendenza.

A vague jealousy, one of those dormant jealousies which grow up between brothers or sisters and slowly ripen till they burst, on the occasion of a marriage perhaps, or of some good fortune happening to one of them, kept them on the alert in a sort of brotherly and non-aggressive animosity. They were fond of each other, it is true, but they watched each other. Pierre, five years old when Jean was born, had looked with the eyes of a little petted animal at that other little animal which had suddenly come to lie in his father's and mother's arms and to be loved and fondled by them.

A glittering evening. The rustle of silk. The gleam of chandeliers and whispered admiration following her every graceful turn. In that moment, she is everything she was born to be—adored, envied, radiant. But the night ends. And reality waits in the shadows. In a world where appearances speak louder than truths, how much is one willing to sacrifice to fit into a vision of elegance? And when the cost of illusion becomes a lifelong sentence, what remains of the dream?

Guy de Maupassant, French master of the short story, had a simple, efficient style of writing and, like Anton Chekhov, found inspiration for his stories in the daily lives of humans, which often reveal our darker nature. Volume IV of his Complete Original Short Stories contains the following: "The Moribund", "The Gamekeeper", "The Story of a Farm Girl", "The Wreck", "Théodule Sabot’s Confession", "The Wrong House", "The Diamond Necklace", "The Marquis de Fumerol", "The Trip of Le Horla", "Farewell!", "The Wolf", and "The Inn".

Short stories have always been a sort of instant access into an author’s brain, their soul and heart. They can lift our lives into locations, people and experiences with a sweep of landscape, narration, feelings and emotions that are difficult to achieve elsewhere. The Gothic short story is one of the most enduring of genres. In this volume we explore works by classic authors from all corners of Europe as they explore and exploit narratives with their undeniable talents.

Guy de Maupassant, France's gift to the world of short stories, was a prolific writer of this genre. His complete collection numbers just under 200.

First published in 1888 in France, this novel is usually considered Maupassant's best. It is a piercing study of jealousy and suspicion. Pierre and Jean are the sons of a retired Parisian jeweler, M. Roland, living at Le Havre. Pierre is a doctor, whose temperament is somewhat nervous and unsteady. Jean, the younger, has a placid nature and is a lawyer. Both love the widowed young Mme. Rosemilly, who seems to prefer Jean. When Jean inherits a fortune from M. Marechal...

Robert Louis Stevenson's "The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde" is of the best "macabre" tales ever written. It is presented here in its entirety along with eight other incredible tales.

Beautifully simple and marvelously strong, the stories of Guy de Maupassant have enchanted generations around the world. One of the finest short story writers of all time, de Maupassant believed that the most heart-wrenching and powerful moments in life lay in the simple events of daily life, and he proved it by turning those moments into timeless stories.

Das Schicksal spielt Mathilde übel zu. Für einen Ball leiht sich das hübsche Mädchen das Brillanthalsband einer reichen Freundin. Doch sie verliert das Halsband. Um das Schmuckstück zu ersetzen, leiht sie sich das Geld dafür bei Freunden zusammen und kauft der Freundin ein ähnliches Halsband. Zehn Jahre lang mühen sich Mathilde und ihr Mann ab, die Schulden zurück zu zahlen und gehen dabei an ihre Grenzen und über diese hinaus - bis Mathilde eines Tages die ganze schreckliche Wahrheit erfährt.

Im Jahr 1885 veröffentlicht die Zeitung Gil Blas die Kurzgeschichte von Toine. Toine liebt es zu lachen und sich zu amüsieren. Doch eines Tages wird er nach einem Angriff gelähmt. Seine Frau zwingt ihn daraufhin dazu, Eier auszubrüten - und dann geschieht ein Wunder!

Jeanne heiratet ihren Cousin Jaques. Es ist keine Liebe auf den ersten Blick, sondern eine Ehe, die von ihren Müttern, zwei Schwestern, beschlossen wird. Dabei sind Jeanne und Jaques wie Geschwister, lebten immer im gleichen Haus, genossen immer die gleiche Erziehung. Doch irgendwann wird aus kindlicher Zuneigung Liebe.

A stagecoach containing a microcosm of French society seek to escape to Le Havre during the Prussian war. Stopping at an inn along the way, they soon realize they have blundered into Prussian occupied territory. The travelers are not allowed to leave until one woman, a prostitute known as Boule de Suif, (literally suet dumpling, or ball of fat), sleeps with the commanding officer. This turn of events is met with universal indignation by the travelers. But as the days stretch out, everyone’s true colors are revealed.

Maupassant is hailed as one of the greatest masters of the short story. This collection focuses upon the land he knew and loved so well - Normandy. Its people and its countryside are portrayed here in vivid color and with great warmth.