Ranging from poignant scrutiny of social pretension, to wicked tales of lust and love, to harrowing stories of terror and madness, the genius of Guy de Maupassant, France’s greatest short-story writer, is on full display in this enthralling new translation by Joachim Neugroschel. The stories Neugroschel has gathered vividly reveal Maupassant’s remarkable range, his keen eye, his technical perfection, his sexual realism, his ability to create whole worlds and sum up intricate universes of feeling in a few pages. Adam Gopnik’s Introduction incisively explores the essence of Maupassant’s unique style and his tremendous, if unjustly unacknowledged, influence (on everything from the American short story to contemporary cinema), bearing eloquent testimony to Maupassant’s continuing and vital appeal.