This is a collection of nine short stories including My Uncle Sosthenes, That Costly Ride, The Accursed Bread, The Dowry, The Legion of Honor, The Necklace, The Odule Sabot's Confession, The Patron and The Umbrella. The Necklace, first published in 1884, is one of Guy de Maupassant's most popular short stories, well known for its ending. It begins with a description of Madame Mathilde Loisel. Though she is "pretty and charming," she and her husband, a clerk in the Ministry of Education, are not financially well off. However, she has always dreamed of a life of luxury, with attentive servants and a large home, but her real life is unavoidably cash-strapped. Ashamed of her social standing, she no longer visits Madame Forestier, an old school friend who has become rich. When the Loisels are invited to a ball, Madame Loisel becomes very upset, insisting that she has nothing appropriate to wear, unless...

一个平凡公务员的妻子玛蒂尔德为参加一次晚会，向朋友借了一串钻石项链，不料回家途中不慎丢失。她只得借钱买了新项链还给朋友。为了偿还债务，她节衣缩食，为别人打短工，整整劳苦了十年。最后得知所借的项链原是一串假钻石项链。本文以项链本身为线索，通过借项链、丢项链、还项链的情节带领读者走进女主人公马蒂尔德的生活及内心世界，深刻领略到19世纪资本主义社会中小人物无法决定自身命运的悲剧现实。