Born in 1850, died in 1893; educated at Rouen; trained in
literary matters by Flaubert; wrote an unsuccessful play in
1879 and then a short story, "Boule de Suif," which
attracted marked attention, and was followed by a great
number of short and long stories, including "Mademoiselle
Fifi" in 1882, "Pierre et Jean" in 1888, and "Notre Coeur"
in 1890.