Henri René Albert Guy de Maupassant (UK: , US: ; French: [ɡi d(ə) mopasɑ̃]; 5 August 1850 – 6 July 1893) was a 19th-century French author, remembered as a master of the short story form, and as a representative of the Naturalist school, who depicted human lives and destinies and social forces in disillusioned and often pessimistic terms.
Maupassant was a protégé of Gustave Flaubert and his stories are characterized by economy of style and efficient, effortless dénouements (outcomes). 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 Suet", 1880), is often considered his masterpiece.
He was known to consume hallucinogens and may have drawn on the experience with these substances for his stories. His work has been studied by neuroscientists due to his skill for articulating and analyzing his first hand experiences with different types of hallucinatory phenomena.
Forfatteren er træt af Paris, og især af Eiffeltårnet (Maupassant hadede Eiffeltårnet og var medunderskriver på en protest mod, at det blev opført), og drager ud på en tur langs ned langs den italienske middelhavskyst til Sicilien, og derfra over til de franske kolonier i Algier og Tunis. Undervejs beskriver han sine mange indtryk og filosoferer over kunst og kultur i nutid og fortid.
Det kan diskuteres, om "Vandrerliv" overhovedet er en roman - den er mere beslægtet med "novellesamlingerne" "På vandet" og "I solen". Men det var således, den blev præsenteret af det danske forlag ved førsteudgaven i 1907, frem for at oprette en særlig serie af rejsebøger. Og hos Maupassant kan grænsen mellem fiktion og fakta jo være noget flydende - en fagmæssig og uinteresseret rejsebeskrivelse er det i hvert fald ikke.
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