The short story "An Uncomfortable Bed" by Guy de Maupassant takes place at a large country house or chateau in rural France in 1883. It describes the extravagant dinner parties and hunting excursions of the time period, as well as the large, apartment-sized rooms in the chateau that each had their own fireplaces. Many beds during this era had heavy curtains to keep cold air out, and the story focuses on a man who has trouble sleeping in an unfamiliar bed with thick curtains in the chateau.