Guy de Maupassant (1850–1893)
Bel Ami or The History of a Scoundrel: A Novel
(1885)
With two illustrations from the first edition of 1885 (Paris: Ollendorf): drawings by Ferdinand Bac, engraved by G. Lemoine.
Georges Duroy, a former non-commissioned officer in the French army in Algeria, endeavours to become a successful Parisian journalist by manipulating a succession of mistresses.
NB Madam Broshkina has uploaded a version of this novel, but we have made some different formatting decisions. The Madam has preferred straight quotes, no accents and US English. I have restored accents, italics and curly quotes, and used UK English. So there is a choice.
We have used the same anonymous translation. Unfortunately, it is heavily abridged (though this is not mentioned by the translator). If a better one becomes available I will replace this one.
This work is assumed to be in the Life+70 public domain OR the copyright holder has given specific permission for distribution. Copyright laws differ throughout the world, and it may still be under copyright in some countries. Before downloading, please check your country's copyright laws.
If the book is under copyright in your country, do not download or redistribute this work.
To report a copyright violation you can
contact us here.