Like all of Guy de Maupassant&#39;s work, &quot;Strong as Death&quot; (1889) is a poignant and haunting tale. It is a tale of love, life, death, and the mystery of the human heart; a tale of an affair of the heart that cannot stand the light of day - a profane love that lasts a lifetime, and haunts from beyond the grave.<br />&quot;Strong as Death&quot; is great fun and the society portrait works well. The novel focuses on the narcissistic sentimentality in the obsessive romantic love between Olivier Bertin and Madame de Guilleroy.&nbsp;