Yvette et autres nouvelles is a collection of short stories by Guy de Maupassant consisting of one novella or "long short story", Yvette and seven short stories. Like many other novellas by De Maupassant, Yvette is about the world of courtesans. The Marquise Obardi organises balls and soirees at her house, frequented by princes, marquesses and aristocrats. Some of these young men, particularly the Duke de Servigny and the Baron Saval eye the daughter of the Marquise, Yvette, who is pretty and voluptuous, and has just turned 18. Yvette speculates about her unknown father, thinking she might be the natural daughter of a prince or king, perhaps King Victor Emmanuel, or whether she is the child of some noble and illustrious family, but taken in and adopted by the Marquise Obardi. Her musings and dreams are thoroughly destroyed, when she discovers that Madame Obardi is a courtesan. This shatters Yvette's idea of herself and in the following identity crisis the drama of the novella unfolds.

The other short stories are quite varied and different. The short story "Le Retour" ("The Return") shows profound humanity and sincerity. This is a very impressive short tale, about a mariner who returns home after many years. The most surprising, perhaps, is the short story "Mohammed-Fripouille" set in French colonial Africa relating a story that reads like an anecdote about the capture of some bandits.

The short stories are mostly told in anecdotal fashion, remembered over decades involving remarkable, and stunning events in the life of common people living in the countryside. ( )