Guy de Maupassant - Mont Oriol: or A Romance of Auvergne

Young bride Christiane arrives in Auvergne to «take the waters» with her husband, described as «a sickly flower, or a sucking pig with its hair shaved off.» But rather than the relaxing family vacation she expects, she finds herself the center of a conspiracy between her father, the Marquis, and the «fossil» medical team in an effort to solve the problem of a lack of heir. Suddenly the discovery of a new spa throws the resort into disarray and brings a lowly family to prominence. Romantic intrigue, financial speculation, satire in the medical profession, a social commentary on the status of women, are all delivered in de Maupassant's picturesque prose. (Lynne Thompson)