Jeanne leaves her convent school for a manor by the Normandy sea, full of hope, and marries the charming Julien de Lamare, only to watch marriage, motherhood and her son Paul let her down one by one. The novel is followed by short stories including the famous tale of an old peasant accused of picking up a lost wallet, with a study of Maupassant by Pol Neveux.
Tolstoy admired it as one of the finest French novels, and it shows Maupassant’s realism at full strength. Download the free EPUB.