Bel Ami the London College of Music. The music and lyrics were written by Alex Loveless. John Braine, the English novelist, stated that his favourite author was Guy de Maupassant and that his first novel, "Room at the Top" (1957), was based on "Bel Ami", but 'the critics didn't pick it up'. Bel Ami Bel Ami is the second novel by French author Guy de Maupassant, published in 1885; an English translation titled "Bel Ami, or, The History of a Scoundrel: A Novel" first appeared in 1903. The story chronicles journalist Georges Duroy's corrupt rise to power from a poor former cavalry
Siân James (novelist) series, "Calon Gaeth", which won the 2007 Bafta Cymru award for Best Drama/Drama Serial for Television. She translated Kate Roberts's novel "Y Byw Sy'n Cysgu" into English as "The Awakening". In 1958 Siân James married the actor, Emrys James. They lived for a time near Stratford-upon-Avon, where he worked with the Royal Shakespeare Company. Their four children were William, Owen, Jo and Anna. Emrys James died in 1989. Siân James (novelist) Siân James (born 1932) is a Welsh novelist, academic and translator, who writes in English. James was born near Llandysul in Carmarthenshire, and attended the University of Wales, Aberystwyth.