Guy de Maupassant's scandalous tale of an
opportunistic young man corrupted by the allure of
power, ''Bel-Ami'' is translated with an introduction by
Douglas Parmee in ''Penguin Classics''. Young,
attractive and very ambitious, George Duroy, known to
his admirers as Bel-Ami, is offered a job as a
journalist on La Vie francaise and soon makes a great
success of his new career. But he also comes face to
face with the realities of the corrupt society in which
he lives - the sleazy colleagues, the manipulative
mistresses and wily financiers - and swiftly learns to
become an arch-seducer, blackmailer and social climber
in a world where love is only a means to an end. Written
when Maupassant was at the height of his powers,
''Bel-Ami'' is a novel of great frankness and cynicism,
but it is also infused with the sheer joy of life -
depicting the scenes and characters of Paris in the
belle epoque with wit, sensitivity and humanity. Douglas
Parmee's translation captures all the vigour and
vitality of Maupassant's novel.His introduction explores
the similarities between Bel-Ami and Maupassant himself
and demonstrates the skill with which the author depicts
his large cast of characters and the French society of
the Third Republic. Guy de Maupassant (1[zasłonięte]850-18) was
born in Normandy. By the late 1870s, the first signs of
syphilis had appeared, and Maupassant had become
Flaubert's pupil in the art of prose. He led a hectic
social life, and in 1891, having tried to commit
suicide, he was committed to an asylum in Paris, where
he died two years later. If you enjoyed ''Bel-Ami'', you
might like William Makepeace Thackeray's ''Vanity
Fair'', also available in ''Penguin Classics''. |
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