Henri René Albert Guy de Maupassant was a popular 19th-century French writer and considered one of the fathers of the modern short story. A protégé of Flaubert, Maupassant’s stories are characterized by their economy of style and efficient, effortless dénouement. Many of the stories are set during the Franco-Prussian War of the 1870s and several describe the futility of war and the innocent civilians who, caught in the conflict, emerge changed. He also wrote six short novels. (source: Wikipedia)