Œuvres complètes de Guy de Maupassant - volume 06

In this lively collection the aging baron of Ravots, once the unrivaled master of the hunt, now confined to a wheelchair, turns his restless mind to the art of storytelling. Surrounded by attentive servants who feed him fleeting pigeons for sport, he gathers friends around the table to recount the most absurd and flamboyant hunting episodes. The ritual of the “conte de la Bécasse”—a theatrical game with goose heads, candles and a rotating pin—adds a macabre humor that reveals both the camaraderie and the vanity of the provincial elite.

The volume gathers the original short stories first published in 1883, presenting Maupassant’s sharp eye for human folly and his crisp, often ironic prose. Alongside the well‑known tales, two previously unpublished pieces, “La Tombe” and “Notes d’un Voyageur,” offer a glimpse into the author’s later reflections on mortality and wander‑lust. Listeners will be drawn into a world where the hunt is as much about the stories told as the prey chased, a perfect blend of wit, melancholy, and vivid rural life.