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How did Guy de Maupassantâs mother know Gustave Flaubert?
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Guy de Maupassant
French author Guy de Maupassant, photograph by Nadar (Gaspard-FĂ©lix Tournachon), c. 1885.
Guy de Maupassantâs mother, Laure, knew Gustave Flaubert because she was the sister of Alfred Le Poittevin, who had been a close friend of the novelist. Laure maintained an affectionate relationship with Flaubert throughout his life, eventually asking him to mentor her son, which initiated the apprenticeship that shaped Maupassantâs literary career.1