Guy de MAUPASSANT mentions Le Horla, Mont-Oriol, and Mirbeau. 

Guy de Maupassant (1850.1893)

Autograph letter signed to the publisher Georges Charpentier.

Two pages in-12° with his number and the crossed out address of his Yacht Bel-Ami

Antibes. Alpine chalet. [around December 1886]

“I finish my novel and I live like a savage in a sort of lighthouse from which I see fifteen to twenty places of sea and coast. »

Entrenched in his solitude, Maupassant evokes Le Horla, Mont-Oriol , and Mirbeau.

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“My dear friend, I was not able to respond immediately to your dispatch because the rumor that circulated is unfounded , as they write in the newspapers. I didn't think about leaving Harvard; there was no question of it. This rumor could only have come from some criticisms made by me on his way of organizing his sale in the provinces. That is all.

I thank you very much for your approach; and as soon as I return to Paris, I will talk with you about the volume of short stories that you asked me for last year [in reality, Maupassant published Le Horla at Ollendorff in May 1887]. At the moment, I am finishing my novel and I live like a savage in a sort of lighthouse from which I can see fifteen to twenty leagues of sea and coast.

Please present my very sincere homage to Madame Charpentier and believe in my very deep affection. Guy de Maupassant. Is Mirbeau’s book – Le Calvaire – published in your country? Is it for sale? If so, I would like a copy. I read an issue of La Nouvelle Revue which really struck me. »

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Maupassant always paid great attention to the launch operations and sales of his works, sometimes with an asperity explained by his need for money. Thus, he often complained about Victor Havard, notably from 1884, and at the same time turned to other publishers, such as Paul Ollendorff (who therefore published the legendary Horla ), from 1887.

He stayed at the Chalet des Alpes in Antibes, from the fall of 1886 to April 1887, and it was there that he completed the writing of Mont-Oriol , initially published in Gil-Blas , then in volume by Havard le February 6, 1887.

Mirbeau, for his part, had just published Le Calvaire in several issues in La Nouvelle Revue (between September 15 and November 15, 1886).

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. Guy de Maupassant. Marlo Johnston. Éditions Fayard.