"Madame Tellier's Establishment" is a short story by French writer Guy de Maupassant. The story concerns the inhabitants of a provincial brothel who all depart on a train journey to witness the confirmation ceremony of the madame's niece. Henri René Albert Guy de Maupassant (5 August 1850 - 1893) was a French writer. He is considered a master of the story form, writing 300 during his life. He also produced six novels, three travel books, and one volume of verse. Other notable works by this author include: "Bel-Ami" (1885), "Pierre et Jean" (1888), and "Mademoiselle Fifi" (1883). Many vintage books such as this are becoming increasingly scarce and expensive. It is with this in mind that we are republishing this volume now in an affordable, modern, high-quality edition complete with a specially commissioned new biography of the author.

'It was raining as it only rains in Normandy, as though great gouts of water were being sprayed by some angry, giant hand.' Maupassant believed that we delude ourselves into believing that we are not animals acting upon instinct but rational creatures capable of idealistic beliefs and actions and survive only on the drug of self-deception. Maupassant's disgust with creation was only equalled by his contempt for human hypocrisy, and in these tales he takes a scalpel to our illusions and cuts to the bone. But his clinical pessimism is redeemed by a sense of the absurd and a warmer compassion for 'humanity bleeding'. Unsentimental but always honest, he persuades us that life is an incomprehensible, cosmic farce. This translation of twenty tales shows Maupassant at his bitter, bawdy, chilling best. It features some of his grimmest and most famous stories such as A Vendetta and The Grove of Olives, and it also reflects both his moods and his mastery of the short story. The Little Keg is rich in comic invention, while the disturbing Who Can Tell? draws its power from the strange forces which drove its author into madness. ABOUT THE SERIES: For over 100 years Oxford World's Classics has made available the widest range of literature from around the globe. Each affordable volume reflects Oxford's commitment to scholarship, providing the most accurate text plus a wealth of other valuable features, including expert introductions by leading authorities, helpful notes to clarify the text, up-to-date bibliographies for further study, and much more.