Maupassant is considered one of the fathers of the modern short story. He delighted in clever plotting, and served as a model for Somerset Maugham and O. Henry in this respect. In this prose works, different human natures are revealed: warmth and sense of justice of Lieutenant Lare, dirtiness of prostitutes and holiness of religions, indifference of the public and kindnessof the farmer.

This book contains four short stories of him. In Lieutenant Lare’S Marriage, Lieutenant Lare saves a father and his daughter who are in serious trouble. Eventually, he wins the father's trust and gets married with his daughter. Madame Tellier’s Establishment tells that a group of prostitutes attend a ceremony of landlady's niece. Through different comparisions, the novel criticises the mix of dirtiness and holiness. Madame Baptiste describes a miserable life of a woman who is raped by a manservant at her age of 11. Mademoiselle Cocotte is a story between a kind farmer and a loyal dog.

Guy de Maupassant ( 5 August 1850 – 6 July 1893) was a popular French writer, considered one of the fathers of the modern short story and one of the form's finest exponents. Maupassant was a protégé of Flaubert and his stories are characterized by economy of style and efficient, effortless dénouements. Many are set during the Franco-Prussian War of the 1870s, describing the futility of war and the innocent civilians who, caught up in events beyond their control, are permanently changed by their experiences. He wrote some 300 short stories, six novels, three travel books, and one volume of verse. His first published story, "Boule de Suif" ("Ball of Fat", 1880), is often considered his masterpiece.