Maupassant was born at the château de Miromesnil, administrative district of Tourville-sur-Arques, Normandy, on 5 August 1850. His father Gustave de Maupassant (whose aristocratic “de” dated only from the 18th century) had private means, but financial losses forced him to seek work as a bank cashier in Paris in 1859. His mother Laure, cultivated and hypersensitive, was from the rich Norman bourgeoisie; her brother, Alfred Le Poittevin (1816-1848), had been a close friend of Flaubert. Dissensions between his parents, due in part to his father's infidelities, led to their separation in 1860.
Educated initially in Paris (1859-1860) Maupassant moved with his mother to Normandy; he remained attached to the Norman countryside and retained a life-long passion for boating. After a year at
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Citation: Cogman, Peter. "Guy de Maupassant". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 17 June 2003 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/speople.php?rec=true&UID=3004, accessed 21 November 2024.]
