Guy de Maupassant
Henry-Réne-Albert-Guy de Maupassant (August 5, 1850 - July 6, 1893) wasFrench writer.
Maupassant was born atChâteau de Miromesnil, near Dieppe. He becamewritershort storiesnovels. His short storiescharacterised by their economystyle andefficient waywhichvarious threads within themneatly resolved. Somehis stories would now be consideredbe horror fiction.
The Maupassants were an old Lorraine family who had settledNormandy inmiddle of18th century. His father had married1846young lady ofwell-to-do bourgeoisie, Laure Le Poittevin. With her brother Alfred, she had beenplaymateGustave Flaubert,son ofRouen surgeon, who was destinedhavedirecting influence on her son's life. She waswomanno common literary accomplishments, very fond ofclassics, especially Shakespeare. Separated from her husband, she kept her two sons, Guyhis younger brother Hervé.
Until he was thirteen years old Guy livedhis mother at Etretat, inVilla des Verguies, where betweensea andluxuriant country, he grew very fondnatureoutdoor sports; he went fishing withfishermen ofcoastspoke patois withpeasants. He was deeply devotedhis mother. He first enteredseminary at Yvetot, but deliberately managedhave himself expelled. From his early religious education he retainedmarked hostilityreligion. Then he was sent toRouen Lycée, where he provedgood scholar indulgingpoetrytakingprominent parttheatricals.
The Franco-Prussian War broke out soon after his graduation from college1870; he enlisted asvolunteerfought gallantly. Afterwar,1871, he left NormandycameParis where he spent ten years asclerk inNavy Department. During these ten tedious years his only recreation was canoeing onSeine on Sundaysholidays.
Gustave Flaubert took him under his protectionacted askindliterary guardianhim, guiding his debutjournalismliterature. At Flaubert's home he metRussian novelist Ivan TurgenevEmile Zola, as well as many ofprotagonists ofrealistnaturalist schools. He wrote considerable verseshort plays. In 1878 he was transferred toMinistryPublic Instructionbecamecontributing editorseveral leading newspapers such as Le Figaro, Gil Blas, Le Gauloisl'Echo de Paris. He devoted his spare timewriting novelsshort stories. In 1880 he published his first masterpiece, "Boule de suif", which metan instanttremendous success. Flaubert characterizedas "a masterpiece that will endure".
The decade from 18801891 wasmost fertile periodMaupassant's life. Made famous by his first short story, he worked methodicallyproduced two or sometimes four volumes annually. He combined talentpractical business sense, which brought him affluencewealth.
In 1881 he published his first volumeshort stories undertitleLa Maison Tellier;reached its twelfth editiontwo years;1883 he finished his first novel "Une Vie", twenty-five thousand copieswhich were soldless thanyear. In his novels, he concentrated all his observations scatteredhis short stories. His second novel Bel-Ami, which came out1885, had thirty-seven printingsfour months. His editor, Havard, commissioned himwrite new masterpieces and, withoutslightest effort, his pen produced worksstyle, description, conception,penetration. At this time he wrote what many considerbe his greatest novel, Pierre et Jean.
Withnatural aversionsociety, he loved retirement, solitude,meditation. He traveled extensivelyAlgeria, Italy, England, Brittany, Sicily, Auvergne,from each voyage he brought backnew volume. He cruised on his private yacht "Bel-Ami", named after his earlier novel. This feverish life did not prevent him from making friends amongliterary celebritieshis day: Alexandre Dumas, fils hadpaternal affectionhim; at Aix-les-Bains he met Tainefell underspell ofphilosopher-historian.
Flaubert continuedact as his literary godfather. His friendship withGoncourtss wasshort duration; his frankpractical nature reacted againstambiancegossip, scandal, duplicity,invidious criticism thattwo brothers had created around them inguisean 18th-century style salon. He hatedhuman comedy,social farce.
In his latter years he developed an exaggerated lovesolitude,predilectionself-preservation, andconstant feardeathmaniapersecution, compounded bysyphilis he had contractedhis early days. He was considered insane1891died two years later,month shorthis 43rd birthday, on July 6, 1893.
Guy de Maupassantburied inCimetiere de Montparnasse, Paris, France.
Biography from prefacepublic domain text
