THE 182 MAUPASSANT STORIES ON THIS SITE

The 182nd and final Maupasssant story to be posted on our site. In this ambitious novella on an eternal theme – or rather on eternal Maupassantian themes: social climbing, the lust for lucre, virility, infertility, infidelity and having children – we follow the career of an up-and-coming young civil servant who arrives at work every day before his colleagues, works much harder and longer than they do, curries favour with his superiors and is obviously destined for rapid advancement up (...)

1. THE ODYSSEY OF A STREET GIRL (1883) The narrator remembers an unforgettable night when he had saved a young street girl from being caught up in a police raid and she had recounted to him the story of her fall from grace. A sad story with a strong undercurrent of social criticism. (2,300 words)
2. MEMORIES (1884) A woman writes to a friend in Paris to explain why she won’t come to visit her any more, explaining that true happiness for her lies in dreaming, not about the future but (...)

Seven more of the master’s best stories, most with a rather racy, distinctively Gallic touch and all with a distinctively direct, straightforward and rather elegant Maupassantian touch.
They have all been translated specially for this site. TABLE OF CONTENTS
1. THE WINDOW The narrator recounts his long, intensive courtship of the well-known, wealthy, attractive, intelligent, really quite ideal Mme de Jadelle, and how a fateful false step unfortunately upset his careful plans regarding (...)

More of the master’s best stories, all with a distinctive and distinctively Gallic touch, vous comprenez?
All of these stories have been translated specially for this site. An e-book, with the original French texts in an annex, is available for downloading below.
The original French texts can also be seen here. TABLE OF CONTENTS
1. ON A SPRING EVENING (1881) Jeanne and Jacques have grown up together, have fallen in love and are engaged to be married, much to the satisfaction of their (...)

A doctor recounts his most memorable Christmas experience – the resolution of a dramatic case of possession – to a group of listeners.
A vivid, intense account of a Christmas miracle from a distinctly detached point of view.
(2,000 words)
Translated specially for this site. An e-book of this striking tale, with the original French text in an annex, is available for downloading below.
The original text can also be seen here. A CHRISTMAS TALE
Doctor Bonenfant searched in his (...)

TABLE OF CONTENTS
1. THE THIEF (1882) Three friends are having a party and dress up in the ancient uniforms that the host collects, each with an appropriate weapon. So when they hear a suspicious noise in the attic and realise that a prowler’s up there, they launch a military expedition to surround and capture the culprit. Which they do, and they decide to conduct his trial that, given their state of inebriation, pronounces a death sentence. (1,750 words)
2. THE IMPOLITE SEX (1882) (...)

TABLE OF CONTENTS
1. FEAR (1882) A group on a passenger boat is discussing the topic and one of them intervenes to give two examples of what fear really is other than simply the somewhat-instinctive reaction to a dangerous situation. Both examples have an eerie and almost-but-not-quite supernatural aspect. (2,300 words) Translated by M. Laurie in the Everyman’s Library collection of Maupassant stories published in the USA in 1934.
2. THAT COSTLY RIDE (1883) An impoverished young couple (...)

TABLE OF CONTENTS
1. A FAMILY AFFAIR (1881) We follow Monsieur Caravan in his daily routine and trying to cope with the constant state of warfare between his spouse and his elderly mother who lives with them and their two ragamuffin children. But today there’s a dramatic decline in the mother’s health and the issues of heritage and testaments start to assume major proportions. (10,210 words)
2. THE BLIND MAN (1882) The narrator, in the process of enjoying the atmosphere of a new (...)

Guy de Maupassant wrote six stories taking place in Corsica, "l’Île de Beauté" that he knew well and was particularly attracted to.
These short but powerful tales, written in his straightforward, realistic and elegant style at the height of his literary career, are a remarkable testimonial to that very particular corner of France (Corsica had come under French rule in 1769 after 400 years of rule by the Republic of Genoa, apart from two brief periods of independence [1736-1740 and (...)

TABLE OF CONTENTS

1. Suicides (1880) A letter is found beside a 57-year-old man who has just shot himself in a depressed state of mind, as dramatically explained in his letter. (1,800 words)

2. Lasting Love (1882) A group of hunters and their wives are debating the question of long-lasting (or otherwise) love after a copious dinner, and a retired Parisian doctor recounts the most intense and long-lasting affair he had ever encountered, involving a respectable pharmacist and a (...)