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Bel-Ami

By Guy de Maupassant
Series: Oxford World's Classics
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Book Hero Magic crafted this summary to help describe this book. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! Summary
Bel-Ami follows the ruthless ascent of Georges Duroy, nicknamed 'Bel-Ami' by his many admirers, as he navigates the treacherous social and political landscape of fin-de-siècle Paris. Against the backdrop of French colonial ambitions in North Africa, the novel incisively explores themes of money, sex, and power, while offering a sharp satire of the era's journalism and bourgeois society.
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Format: Paperback / softback
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Book Hero Magic created this recommendation. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! IS THIS YOUR NEXT READ?

This classic novel will appeal to readers interested in French literature, social satire, and historical insights into late nineteenth-century society. It suits those who appreciate nuanced character studies and critiques of ambition and power dynamics.

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Maupassant's second novel, Bel-Ami (1885) is the story of a ruthlessly ambitious young man making it to the top in fin-de-siècle Paris. It is a novel about money, sex, and power, set against the background of the politics of the French colonization of North Africa. This new translation is complemented by fullest introduction and notes of any edition.

Book Hero Magic formatted this description to make it easier to read. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! Description

'His rise testifies to the decline of a whole society.' Jean-Paul Sartre

Maupassant's second novel, Bel-Ami (1885), is the story of a ruthlessly ambitious young man, Georges Duroy, christened 'Bel-Ami' by his female admirers, making it to the top in fin-de-siècle Paris. It is a novel about money, sex, and power, set against the background of the politics of the French colonization of North Africa. It explores the dynamics of an urban society uncomfortably close to our own and is a devastating satire of the sleaziness of contemporary journalism.

Bel-Ami enjoys the status of an authentic record of the apotheosis of bourgeois capitalism under the Third Republic. But the creative tension between its analysis of modern behaviour and its identifiably late nineteenth-century fabric is one of the reasons why Bel-Ami remains one of the finest French novels of its time, as well as being recognized as Maupassant's greatest achievement as a novelist.

ABOUT THE SERIES: For over 100 years, Oxford World's Classics has made available the widest range of literature from around the globe. Each affordable volume reflects Oxford's commitment to scholarship, providing the most accurate text plus a wealth of other valuable features, including expert introductions by leading authorities, helpful notes to clarify the text, up-to-date bibliographies for further study, and much more.

Book Hero Magic summarised reviews for this book. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! HOW HAS THIS BEEN REVIEWED?

New Statesman praises Bel-Ami as "a piquant contemporary satire" deserving a distinguished place in the literary canon. MLR recommends the Oxford translation for its excellent critical features, calling it "well-packaged and affordable" for in-depth study.

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Book Details

INFORMATION

ISBN: 9780199553938

Publisher: Oxford University Press

Format: Paperback / softback

Date Published: 11 September 2008

Country: United Kingdom

Imprint: Oxford University Press

Contributors:

  • Translated by Margaret Mauldon
  • Edited by Robert Lethbridge

Audience: General / adult

DIMENSIONS

Spine width: 16.0mm

Width: 129.0mm

Height: 195.0mm

Weight: 251g

Pages: 368

Collections

Classic Fiction Classic General Fiction Fiction General Fiction Guy de Maupassant Literary Fiction Series: Oxford World's Classics

About the Author

Margaret Mauldon has previously translated Zola, L'Assommoir, Stendhal, The Charterhouse of Parma, Huysmans, Against Nature (winner of the 1999 Scott Moncrieff prize) and Constant, Adolphe for OWC Robert Lethbridge has edited Zola's L'Assommoir and La Debacle for OWC and has written several books on Maupassant and Zola

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