This translation is based on the text of Pierre et Jean edited by Louis Forestier in the Pléiade edition of the Romans (Paris: Éditions Gallimard, 1987), widely considered to be the most authoritative edition of Maupassant’s works. Pierre et Jean first appeared in the Nouvelle Revue in three instalments (1 and 15 Dec. 1887; 1 Jan. 1888) before being published in volume form by Paul Ollendorff in January 1888.
I am extremely grateful to Professor Robert Lethbridge for his encouragement and lively debate on the more specific problems of retaining Maupassant’s symbolic and suggestive use of language in the translation of this novel (see Introduction).