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Guy de Maupassant's Moonlight

In 1974 Alan Maitland joined CBC Radio's As It Happens as co-host, and during that time he became known affectionately as Fireside Al and Front Porch Al, tempting listeners to pull up a chair to the fire or on the porch (depending on the season) and listen. He read stories by a long list of authors, and they were a delight for audiences, whether the story was a humorous or a poignant one. His reading of The Shepherd, by Frederick Forsythe, has become a Christmas Eve tradition on As It Happens.

In this clip, Alan Maitland, as Front Porch Al, tells us the story Moonlight, by Guy de Maupassant.  It is the tale of a misogynist priest, the Abbé Marignan, who is ruled purely by reason, but whose view of life and love is influenced by the magic and splendour of moonlight.

• Guy de Maupassant was born Aug. 5, 1850, and died July 6, 1893 in Paris.

• Maupassant was introduced to Gustave Flaubert, who assumed the role of teacher to Maupassant, and in turn introduced him to literary contemporaries such as Emile Zola, Ivan Turgenev and Henry James. 

• Maupassant's first critical acclaim was for a short story titled Boule de Suif, or Ball of Fat, which he contributed to a volume of stories on the Franco-German war, in 1880. 

Medium: Radio
Program: As It Happens
Broadcast Date: Aug. 2, 1993
Narrator: Alan Maitland
Duration: 10:51

Last updated: February 3, 2012

Page consulted on March 28, 2013

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