“Bel-Ami” is a novel by the French author Guy de Maupassant. The novel was originally published in French in the year 1885 and was later translated into English and published in 1903 after it was given the English title, “Bel-Ami”.
The novel tells the story of a man named Georges Duroy, a former French soldier who begins the novel as a penniless railroad worker. Georges rises through the ranks as a journalist and rises through society thanks to the help of his bosses wife, who helps him write his articles. Eventually, Georges marries the woman after his boss dies. Unfortunately, he is not happy in the marriage and begins seeing other women behind her back...
The story of “Bel-Ami” was intended by de Maupassant to display what he deemed to be the classlessness of the world of French journalism at the time. The novel continues to be viewed as a classic of French literature today and one of de Maupassant’s most famous novels.
