Deep dive into this 'Classic Werewolf Collection' from the very best fantasy, adventure, and literary fiction writers.From the creator of 'The Three Musketeers', Alexandre Dumas, to Frank Powell, author of the first pioneering science-fiction novel about lost worlds and the mastermind of the short story himself, Guy de Maupassant, this unmissable collection paints a dark and dramatic anthology of twilight's most frightening foe.You'll encounter the poetic prose of Marie de ...

"The Thief" tells the tragic story of a soldier enamoured with life and with a girl as disquieting and wayward as she is beautiful.Through masterful storytelling within a story, Guy de Maupassant portrays a fiery and passionate romance, initiated in secrecy and heartbreakingly brought to light, when on one dark, fateful evening, the soldier is mistaken for a thief.With "The Thief", Maupassant calls upon the reader to question the nature of crime, the appropriateness of juri...

"People talked of a colossal wolf with gray fur, almost white, who had eaten two children, gnawed off a woman's arm..."A werewolf terrorises locals, devouring livestock and killing children, but brothers Jean and François are determined to find and kill the beast once and for all.Will the hunters become the hunted?

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...

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...

Set aboard a steamship sailing from Le Havre to Trouville, 'Discovery' is a short and funny story, with a moral tucked away in the dialogue.When the narrator meets his old friend, Henri Sidoine, the latter rants about the number of English people on board.With the kind of ire that Basil Fawlty (played by John Cleese) reserved for his guests, Sidoine gives full rein to his loathing of the English although, as it turns out, he fell in love with, and married, an Englishwoman.

What do you do when the love of your life dies?Monsieur Lemonnier completely adores his wife. He spends every second with her. The only thing that their relationship misses is a baby. The couple has been desperate to expand their family for years - to no avail. So when his wife falls pregnant, things seem too good to be true.Until she dies in childbirth.Monsieur Lemonnier transfers the love he had for his wife onto his son, believing him to be perfect also. Then a s...

Just like Jack Nicholson's character in 'About Schmidt,' the narrator of 'A Recollection' is feeling useless.He feels, to quote Morrissey, that ´Everyday is Like Sunday.' To shake himself from his drudgery, he decides to take a stroll from Paris to catch a boat to Saint-Cloud.After a dreamy stroll, he encounters a married couple, who seem to be in a spot of bother. Taken with the wife, the narrator agrees to help them, but will her company help or hinder his need for excite...

Colone Laporte has an opinion about everything. Colonel Laporte is also right about everything. Or so he thinks.During a conversation with a friend, he is preaching his opinion about French people. He claims that they are famous for their attitudes towards members of the opposite sex. His friend disagrees. Frustrated and attempting to get his point across, he begins to tell the story of an encounter he had during the Franco-Prussian War. Only as his story continues does it become c...

Money doesn't buy happiness. But can it buy love?Two families live in the Norman countryside. Neither of them have any money. Both of them are happy, healthy, and fulfilled. A wealthy couple walks past regularly, marveling at the way the children play outside. Childless themselves, this sight makes them incredibly emotional. So they make the families an offer that neither of them can refuse, but will they accept?This social drama is perfect for fans of J.B Priestley's 'An I...

Have you ever experienced a hot air balloon ride?This short story describes a trip from Paris to Belgium taken by the popular French author Guy de Maupassant. Describing in detail every sight and sound, he takes readers on a balloon ride like no other.The three crew members and three passengers watch the sunset and moonrise and experience the threat of a looming storm. Views of Paris and the beautiful French and Belgian countryside below are also eloquently brought to life....

Later made into a film, starring Vincent Price, 'The Diary of a Madman' is a dark and disturbing short story.In just three pages, Maupassant introduces us to an upright magistrate who has just condemned a prisoner, Blondel, to death.Blondel is convicted of prolicide, and the magistrate wants to work out why he's committed this terrible crime. Through his diary, we see how the idea takes root and becomes something much more sinister...A gripping read that's as releva...