Laying the foundations for films such as 'Mother and Child,' starring Naomi Watts and Samuel L Jackson, 'Abandoned' packs a lot into a short space.As a younger woman, Madame de Cadour gave birth to an illegitimate son. She and her then-lover, Henri put the child up for adoption, but she has wondered about him ever since.40 years later, she decides to try and find him with Henri's help, and her husband is oblivious to the whole thing.Will Madame de Cadour and Henri f...

A drunkard and a brute, Patin's marriage to Désireé is an unhappy one. He leaves to go fishing one night during a terrible storm, and never returns. Désireé is convinced he has somehow managed to cheat death and lives in constant fear of his return. Some years later she buys a parrot, and her nightmare begins anew. Amusing and humorous, "The Parrot" is a short comedy in which Maupassant holds his cards close to his chest, keeping his readers guessing until the final page.

"The Question of Latin" follows the narrator and his memories of the olden days, when Father Piquedent used to teach him Latin. The two become friends, but soon the teacher reveals that he is not good at anything else but teaching Latin, and thus he is having financial problems. The narrator has to think of a way to help his teacher and get him out of this predicament. A tale that explores the solitude and shortcomings of an academic career, "The Question of Latin" is a rather positive sto...

'A Mother of Monsters' is a dark and disturbing story.The narrator is visiting his friend, and they walk along the seafront. As their conversation continues, the friend tells him of the eponymous mother, and they decide to visit her.What they are met with is both horrific and tragic and can be read as a commentary on the plight of the lower classes. Maupassant's concise and simple style only serves to increase the horror and brutality of this short tale.A story that...

Money gets you everywhere, it can even buy happiness - if you have enough. It is a fragile thing, though, and you must be careful what you do with it. When Mademoiselle Source, a wealthy woman who has been maimed in a tragic accident, adopts an orphaned baby, she could never have predicted that the young boy would make her life a living hell. She grows more and more afraid, until one day she decides to run away from him. But is it really so easy? Maupassant's dive into an unfamiliar genre,...

When Jeanne's husband shaves off his mustache, she sees it as a vile, rebellious act committed specifically to upset her, and becomes impatient to embark on a journey of praising its virtues. Eroticism and sexual descriptions make this single epistolary conversation between the two women into an intriguing, humorous piece of art. Maupassant's distinctive voice shines throughout this short story, and it raises an important question - are mustaches more interesting than most people?

Over the course of his career, French writer Guy de Maupassant made a number of important contributions to the then-emergent genre of short stories. Today, critics regard him as one of the most accomplished virtuosos of short fiction. This comprehensive collection of Maupassant's short works showcases the writer's unique talents, which include an unvarnished, straightforward style and a mastery of narrative structure.

Laying the foundations for films, such as 'One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest,' starring Jack Nicholson, 'Bertha' is a study on mental illness.While the narrator visits his old friend, Dr Bonnet, the doctor asks him to wait while he visits a patient. The patient is Bertha, a woman who was once young and beautiful but with no way of communicating with the outside world.Rightly or wrongly, Dr Bonnet subjects her to a series of experiments before her family decides there's an ans...

Despite its title. 'The Effeminates' has nothing to do with sexuality.Instead, it's a satire on the fickle natures of Parisians and those who work in the Chamber of Deputies (a French parliamentary body).According to Maupassant's observations, these 'man-girls' are a bane of society, forever changing their minds, following their whimsies, and plotting behind the backs of even their closest friends.An interesting psychological snapshot of 19th Century France, 'The Ef...

4th edition of this classic Ecology textComputational methods have largely been replaced by descriptions of the available softwareIncludes procedure information for R software and other freely available software systemsNow includes web references for equipment, software and detailed methodologies

Sir John Rowell's death is shrouded in mystery, and the judge who narrates his story essentially turns it into a scary campfire story. Elements of hunting, sea voyaging, and savagery make this story enticing for fans of R.M Ballantyne. "The Hand" is another example of Maupassant's experiments with the supernatural and once again it proves fruitful and successful.

An aristocratic lady travels alone to picturesque Monaco, expecting a peaceful vacation. It turns into a place of horror for the woman, however, as she experiences something unspeakable at the artificial lake. She details her experiences in a letter to a dear friend. This grim tale was Maupassant's dive into something new, and his experiment paid off - creating a chilling story that rivals even the masters of the supernatural genre.