A widow

Set during the hunting season, the Chateau Baneville is peopled with guests waiting for the weather to improve. After half-heartedly playing board games, they tell stories. None is so shocking as the one told by Genevieve and the boy who loved her in her youth. With allusions to mental illness and obsession, this is a dark romantic tale, sure to promote some heated conversation. Touching on similar themes as Robert Redford's 'Ordinary People,' 'A Widow' is a tragic love story. It will delight fans of other tragic love stories such as Shakespeare's ´Romeo and Juliet´ and Victor Hugo's ´The Hunchback of Notre Dame´. Hailed as one of the pioneers of the modern short story, Henri Ren Albert Guy de Maupassant (1850 - 1893) was born in Dieppe, France. After his parents' divorce, Maupassant was cared for by his mother who had a passion for literature. During his secondary education, he was introduced to the acclaimed novelist, Gustave Flaubert, who was to play a prominent part in Maupassant's literary career. The Franco-Prussian War saw the author enlist in the Navy, and his experiences influenced many of his books, including 'Boule de Suif.' Flaubert was to take him under his wing after the war, introducing him to realist and naturalist authors, such as Émile Zola and Ivan Turgenev.