Maupassant, (Henri René Albert) Guy de

Maupassant, (Henri René Albert) Guy de (1850-1893), French author, one of the greatest masters of the short story in world literature. He was reputedly born in the Château de Miromesnil, Normandy, and educated at Yvetot and Rouen. In his youth he was a member of a literary group centring around the renowned novelist Gustave Flaubert, a close family friend; it was Flaubert himself who trained Maupassant in the art of writing fiction. Maupassant's first important work was the short story Boule de Suif (Ball of Fat, 1880), written for a volume Les Soirées de Médan and considered his masterpiece in the genre. More than 200 short stories, including “Madamoiselle Fifi” (1882) and the famous “La Parure” (The Necklace, 1884), followed in the next 13 years. Maupassant's work is characterized by variations on the general theme of the cruelty of human beings to one another, by simplicity of style, and by realism. His short stories have been translated into English many times, and are available in many editions. Maupassant was also the author of three collections of travel sketches and six novels, including A Woman's Life (1883; trans. 1903), a compassionate story of a married woman's misery; Bel Ami (1885; trans. 1891), about an unscrupulous journalist; The Two Brothers (1888; trans. 1890); The Master Passion (1889; trans. 1889); and Our Hearts (1890).