Generally considered the
French master of the
short story, this brilliant--if eccentric (ain't they all?)-- writer started of as a
Parisian lawyer, but soon grew bored with this and joined the army in fighting the
Franco-Prussian War. Afterwards he joined up with
Gustave Flaubert and met the likes of
Emile Zola and
Henry James. During this time he took a series of
civil service jobs, from
education to
sanitation. Even a cursory reader would note that many of his protagonists are also
government employees.
Suffering syphilis most of his later life, many of his characters share the mental disorder that Mr. Maupassant suffered, resembling at points the work of Edgar Allan Poe. It was this psychosis that lead to his attempted suicide in 1892, after which he entered an asylum and died the next year.
A prolific writer, he published over 300 short stories, 6 novels, a poetry anthology, and three travel guides. He is most admired for his stark, naturalistic style and stinging short stories, which also considerably influenced O. Henry.
Some novels are:
- Une vie (1883)
- Bel-Ami (1885)
- Mont-Oriol (1887)
- Pierre et Jean (1888)
- Fort comme la mort (1889)
- Notre coeur (1890)
Other works include:
- Toine
- Yvette
- Contes du jour et la nuit
- Contes et nouvelles
- Clair de Lune
- Miss Harriet
- The Dark Side
- Boule de Suif et autre contes de la guerre
- The Necklace and Other Short Stories (Excellent, in my opinion)
If you have an addition, just message me and I'll add it.
special thanks to Lectrice for spell-checking and fact-checking and stupid-checking me. Give Lectrice a hug.