Guy de Maupassant's Tales of the Franco-Prussian War - A Collection of Short Stories

Book excerpt: These early works by Guy de Maupassant were originally published in the 1880's. As a collection of short stories, this represents Maupassant's tales of the Franco-Prussian War, and includes 'Two Little Soldiers', 'The Prisoners', 'The Lancer's Wife', 'Boule de Suif', 'A Coup D'etat', and many other titles. Guy de Maupassant was born in 1850 at the Château de Miromesnil, near Dieppe, France. He came from a prosperous family, but when Maupassant was eleven, his mother risked social disgrace by trying to secure a legal separation from her husband. After the split, Maupassant lived with his mother till he was thirteen, and inherited her love of classical literature. In 1880, Maupassant published his first - and, according to many, his best - short story, entitled 'Boule de Suif' ('Ball of Fat'). It was an instant success. He went on to be extremely prolific during the 1880s, working methodically to produce up to four volumes of short fiction every year. Many of the earliest books, particularly those dating back to the 1900's and before, are now extremely scarce and increasingly expensive. We are republishing these classic works in affordable, high quality, modern editions.