The Focus Student Editions are designed for French language courses in literature and culture. Prepared with non-native French speakers in mind, these editions include an introduction (in French), the complete work, and linguistic and cultural notes in French, a current bibliography and study questions.

A masterful example of the psychological novel in French literature, Pierre et Jean tells the tale of two brothers and the secret which nearly destroys their family. Maupassant's shortest novel, this 1887 realist work vividly pictures the French bourgeoisie, middle-class morality and the problem of money.