Bel Ami; Or, the History of a Scoundrel: A Novel
1885
Georges Duroy has nothing but his looks, his name, and an unshakeable belief that the world owes him everything. Arriving in Paris with empty pockets and unlimited ambition, he discovers that charm is currency enough. A chance meeting with an old army comrade leads to a job at a powerful newspaper, and from there, Duroy begins his methodical ascent through Parisian society, seducing women who can advance him, discarding them when they've served their purpose, and manipulating his way into rooms where he once belonged only as a servant. Maupassant writes with surgical precision about a man who knows exactly what he is and has no intention of changing. The novel crackles with the energy of belle époque Paris, its newspaper offices, its dinner parties, its financial intrigues, but beneath the glittering surface lies something dark and honest about how power actually works. This is a book that knows what it wants and takes it without apology.
