Published in 1885, Maupassant’s second novel is the cynical yet witty story of sex, money and power during France’s corrupt Third Republic. George Duroy rises steadily from his Norman peasant origins, becoming a soldier in Algeria, and finally, a successful Parisian journalist. Christened “Bel-Ami” by his female admirers, Duroy achieves his substantial positions as leading editor and aspiring politician mostly through his manipulative relationships with a string of powerful and intelligent mistresses. The novel was hugely successful, going through thirty-seven printings in its first four months of publication.
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Guy de Maupassant (1850–1893) was born near Dieppe, France. Arriving in Paris in 1871, he spent ten years as a clerk with the Department of the Navy, working on his fiction in his spare time. His early efforts so impressed Gustave Flaubert that the elder writer took him on as a protégé. His first collection of stories, published in 1881 was a great success. In addition to writing over 300 short stories—tales marked by objectivity and a highly controlled and economic style—he also published six novels and three travel books. Maupassant is considered one of the founders and finest exponents of the modern “naturalistic” short story.