Guy de Maupassant’s rivetting  Boule de Suif tells the story of a group of people travelling by carriage from Rouen to Le Havre during the Franco-Prussian war of1870-71. The travellers include three  well-to- do ‘respectable’ married couples, two nuns, and a man alone who identifies as a ‘left’- leaning democrat. The company is complete with a buxom,…