This story attributed to Guy de Moupassant is about a man who goes on a hunting holiday with some friends. They are staying in a large country house. When he arrives, the others seem much more jovial than usual. The friends often play practical jokes on one another, so he is suspicious they have planned a trick to play on him. When they all go to bed, he takes great care to make sure that the room contains no traps. He doesn’t find anything, but his friends still have a good laugh at his expense the next day.
Original Text / PDF (955 words)
General Comments
Although An Uncomfortable Bed features as an example of Maupassant’s work on a number of literature websites, there is some doubt as to its origin. The story first appeared around 1910, whereas Maupassant passed away in 1893. According to the Maupassant 300 page on the excellent Prospero’s Isle website:
It has been included in several Internet anthologies of Maupassant stories, and has been published in paper and ebook formats by respectable publishers such an A….. and G….. . But in none of those online, paper or e-book versions is there the slightest reference to the title of the original French-language work, or to when and where it was first published. No reference to any title remotely resembling this one can be found in the very extensive French-language documentation of Maupassant’s life and work, so until such time as the original title and date of first publication can be established, this flighty English-language tale must be included in the category of “fake Maupassant” stories.
Any reader comments that can throw further light on this would be much appreciated.