Henri René Albert Guy de Maupassant, celebrated as a master of the short story and a leading figure in the naturalist school, was born on August 5, 1850, and passed away on July 6, 1893. His tales, often set during the Franco-Prussian War, reveal the futility of war and its harsh impact on innocent civilians through a style that is marked by its economy and effective dénouements. Maupassant was notably a protégé of Gustave Flaubert.

His narrative journey began with the famed story "Boule de Suif" ("The Dumpling") in 1880, which remains among his most celebrated works. Over his career, Maupassant penned some 300 short stories, six novels, three travel books, and a volume of verse. Despite the range of genres he explored, his short stories stand out for their precision of style and a broad emotional and thematic spectrum—ranging from drama to macabre horror.

Among his best-known works are Une Vie (A Woman's Life, 1883), Bel-Ami (1885), and Pierre et Jean (1888), the latter being a psychological exploration of two brothers that stirred controversy for its moral ambiguity. Notably, Maupassant's tales often engage with themes of mental illness and the macabre, a reflection perhaps of the syphilis that afflicted him from his twenties, leading to severe neurological and mental issues in his later years. This personal struggle culminated tragically in an attempted suicide in 1892, after which he was committed to the private asylum of Dr. Esprit Blanche in Paris, where he died in 1893.

Maupassant's influence extends broadly across the literary landscape, inspiring writers such as W. Somerset Maugham and O. Henry. His work, often compared to that of Edgar Allan Poe, remains a crucial touchstone in the study of the short story form.