Pierre et Jean
Appearance
Pierre et Jean is a naturalist or psycho-realist work written by Guy de Maupassant in 1887. The work was first published in periodical form on 1 and 15 December 1887, and 1 January 1888 in La nouvelle revue, before being edited into one volume on 9 January 1888 at Ollendorf House.
The novel tells of a doctor named Pierre, the older brother of a lawyer named Jean. It recounts the story of the older sibling's jealousy of the younger, who mysteriously inherits the fortune of Léon Maréchal, a recently deceased Parisian friend of the Rolands. Because of this, allegations and suspicions accumulate throughout the entire novel on the legitimacy of Jean. Is he secretly the son of Maréchal and Mme Roland?
English-language translations of Pierre et Jean include: