Guy de Maupassant

Guy de Maupassant in 1888

Guy de Maupassant (1850 – 1893) was a French writer, considered one of the fathers of the modern short story.

His famous stories include "Boule de Suif" (about a stagecoach of refugees in the Franco-Prussian war), "The Necklace" (about a woman who loses a borrowed diamond necklace), and "The Horla" (a horror story which was an inspiration to HP Lovecraft).

Works written by Guy de Maupassant include:

• "The Necklace"

Guy de Maupassant provides examples of the following tropes:

• Ambition Is Evil: Bel Ami
• Bury Your Disabled: The title character in "The Blind Man".
• Cosmic Horror Story: "The Horla".
• Creepy Souvenir: "The Hand" is about a hunter who cut off the arm of his enemy, dried it in the sun, and hung it in his living room. Later, the man is found dead, with marks on his neck showing he was strangled... and the hand in the living room is missing.
• Hooker with a Heart of Gold: The title character in "Boule de Suif".
• Knife-Throwing Act: "The Artist" concerns a circus knife thrower who wants to kill his wife. It is hinted that he might do this by feigning an accident while she acts as his target girl. The twist is that he finds this impossible because he has trained himself so well that his reflexes prevent it.
• Through the Eyes of Madness: "The Horla".
• Unreliable Narrator: "The Horla".