Making the most of his charm and good looks (his admirers nickname him "Bel Ami"), Duroy exploits the weaknesses of others to his own advantagein the process betraying the woman who has most selflessly supported him. Published in 1885, Bel Ami is not only a vivid portrait of a glamorously corrupt and long-vanished Paris, but also a strikingly modern expos&eacute; of the destructiveness of unconstrained ambition, sex, and power.