Guy de Maupassant’s Short Stories Part 1

Please join us for a two year read through of Guy de Maupassant’s 182 Short Stories. Please note that this is a placeholder and further details about which stories to be read will be announced shortly.

From Wikipedia:

Guy de Maupassant was a French Writer remembered as a master of the short story form, and as a representative of the naturalist school of writers, who depicted human lives and destinies and social forces in disillusioned and often pessimistic terms.

Maupassant was a protégé of Flaubert and his stories are characterized by economy of style and efficient, effortless dénouements (outcomes). Many are set during the Franco-Prussian War of the 1870s, describing the futility of war and the innocent civilians who, caught up in events beyond their control, are permanently changed by their experiences. He wrote some 300 short stories, six novels, three travel books, and one volume of verse. His first published story, "Boule de Suif" ("Ball of Fat", 1880), is often considered his masterpiece.

Amazon review:

For the love of Guy de Maupassant

Love is always love, come whence it may. A heart that beats at your approach, an eye that weeps when you go away are things so rare, so sweet, so precious that they must never be despised.

Widely regarded as the ‘Father of Modern Short Story’ writing, Guy de Maupassant (1850 – 1893) was one of the greatest French writers in the 19th century. His stories strikingly captured various aspects of day-to-day life in France during that time. Many of his stories were based on the Franco-Prussian War and the lives of innocent people who were caught in it. He has written more than 300 short stories, six novels, travel books and also a book of poetry. Some of his well-known works include, ‘Boule de Suif', 'Bel Ami' and 'Mademoiselle Fifi'. Soon after graduation, Maupassant served as a volunteer in the Franco-Prussian War, after which he pursued a career as a civil servant working in the Navy Department and the Ministry of Public Instruction. In his 20s Guy de Maupassant began to suffer from syphilis, which caused him much mental agony and trouble for the rest of his living years.

Maupassant was a protégé of Flaubert and his stories are characterized by economy of style and efficient. Many are set during the Franco-Prussian War of the 1870s, describing the futility of war and the innocent civilians who, caught up in events beyond their control, are permanently changed by their experiences.

Guy de Maupassant’s stories are only second to Shakespeare in their inspiration of movie adaptations with films. Often his stories give ‘plot’ to a movie like in John Ford’s Stagecoach, Ford claimed that his inspiration in expanding Stagecoach beyond the bare-bones plot given in "The Stage to Lordsburg" was his familiarity with another short story, "Boule de Suif" “Lump of Fat” by Guy de Maupassant. The same story inspired the Japanese director Kawaguchi Matsutaro’s for his movie “Oyuki the Virgin”. It is discussion weather plots of Guy de Maupassant's short stories are used in famous movies such as Citizen Kane (by Orson Welch) and Masculine Feminine (by Jean Luc Godard).

Online Text Link:
https://www.prosperosisle.org/spip.php?article960