La Parure

French literature in Reclams Red Series: this is the French original text – with word explanations at the bottom of each page, an afterword, and literature references.

La Parure ("The Necklace"), published in 1884, is one of Maupassant's most famous novellas. It is short, easy to read, and features a tension arc that is dramatically resolved only at the very end, in the last sentence. As an outstanding example of Maupassant's novella artistry, it is often covered in French classes. This edition combines the text of the novella – always accompanied by all necessary linguistic explanations – with an excerpt from the famous ball scene in Flaubert's Madame Bovary (to which the novella bears parallels) and a dossier that provides information about the author and the genre of the novella.

French reading: Level B1–B2 (GER).