Bel-Ami is the second novel by French author Guy de Maupassant, published in 1885; an English translation titled ""Bel Ami, or, The History of a Scoundrel: A Novel"" first appeared in 1903. The story chronicles Georges Duroy's corrupt rise to power. Georges, a down-and-out journalist, comes from a humble background yet concocts a spectacular rise to the top of Parisian society, most of which he achieves by...

Bel-Ami is the second novel by French author Guy de Maupassant, published in 1885; an English translation titled ""Bel Ami, or, The History of a Scoundrel: A Novel"" first appeared in 1903. The story chronicles Georges Duroy's corrupt rise to power. Georges, a down-and-out journalist, comes from a humble background yet concocts a spectacular rise to the top of Parisian society, most of which he achieves by manipulating a series of powerful, intelligent, and wealthy mistresses. "Bel Ami" is not only a vivid portrait of a glamorously crooked and long-vanished Paris, but also a strikingly modern depiction of the destructiveness of unconstrained Ambition, Sex and power.