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Bel-Ami
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Bel-Ami (1885) (edit title/settings)

by Guy de Maupassant (Author) (edit contributors)

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Description edit see section history

Young, attractive and very ambitious, George Duroy, known to his friends as Bel-Ami, is offered a job as a journalist on La Vie francaise and soon makes a great success of his new career. But he also comes face to face with the realities of the corrupt society in which he lives the sleazy... read more

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Characters edit see section history

  • Georges Duroy: An ex-soldier, becomes a journalist, when he got a taste of the good life he became a social climber.
  • Charles Forestier: Journalist, married to Madeleine, Geroges old friend from the army who helps him get a job in Paris.
  • Madeleine Forestier (Du Roy): Charles's and later Georges's wife who helps her husbands write their articles and has many connections among the powerful
  • Monsieur Laroche-Mathieu: a friend of Madeleine Forestier, a deputy, later a minister who owes his position and sudden wealth to Vie Francaise, Madeleine Forestier's lover
  • Comte de Vaudrec: an old longtime friend and protector and probably also lover of Madeleine Forestier (Du Roy)
  • Clotilde de Marelle: the Forestiers' friend whose husband is away for long periods of time, Duroy's main lover
  • Laurine de Marelle: Clotilde's young daughter, who comes up with the nickname Bel Ami.
  • Jacques Rival: a journalist
  • Norbert de Varenne: an old single bitter life-tired poet who is among the Vie Francaise staff
  • Monsieur Walter: the owner and chief editor of the Vie Francaise
  • Virginie Walter: Monsieur Walter's wife, later Duroy's lover
  • Suzanne Walter: The Walter's marriageable daughter, later Madame Du Roy
  • Rachel: a prostitute to whom Georges turns in times of financial crisis
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Quotes edit see section history

  • “For loving words, which are always the same, take their flavor from the lips by which they are uttered.”
    Georges Duroy
  • “The secret is not to betray your ignorance. Just maneuver, avoid the quicksands and obstacles, and the rest can be found in a dictionary.”
    Forestier
  • “While one is climbing the ladder, one sees the top and feels hopeful; but when one has reached that summit, one sees the descent and the end which is death. It is slow work ascending, but one descends rapidly.”
  • “He thought of the insects which live several hours, of the feasts which live several days, of the men who live several years, of the worlds which last several centuries. What was the difference between one and the other? A few more dawns, that was all.”
    Bel Ami

First Sentence edit see section history

Quand la caissière lui eut rendu la monnaie de sa pièce de cent sous, Georges Duroy sortit du restaurant.

Table of Contents edit see section history

Chapter I. Poverty
Chapter II. Madame Forestier
Chapter III. First Attempts
Chapter IV. Duroy Learns Something
Chapter V. The First Intrigue
Chapter VI. A Step Upward
Chapter VII. A Duel with an End
Chapter VIII. Death and a Proposal
Chapter IX. Marriage
Chapter X. Jealousy
Chapter XI. Madame Walter Takes a Hand
Chapter XII. A Meeting and the Result
Chapter XIII. Madame Marelle
Chapter XIV. The Will
Chapter XV. Suzanne
Chapter XVI. Divorce
Chapter XVII. The Final Plot
Chapter XVIII. Attainment

Series & Lists edit see section history

This book is in Penguin Classics. (publisher edition list)
This book is in Guardian 1000 Novels Everyone Must Read. (authoritative list)
This is book 826 of 1286 in 1001 Books You Must Read Before You Die. (authoritative list)

Authors & Contributors edit see section history

  1. Guy de Maupassant (Author)

First Edition edit see section history

Original Language: French
Publisher: N/A
Country: France
Publication Date: 1885
ISBN: N/A
Page Count: 128

Classification edit see section history

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