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Trama e riassunto di La biblioteca dei migliori racconti del mistero e polizieschi del mondo
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About 6 h 40 min to read.A chi è rivolto
Readers who like short stories with a sting, ghost tales told by firelight, clever judges and sleuths, and a trip through many countries and centuries. It suits anyone curious how the mystery tale began.
Che cos’è questo libro
A woman looks into her mirror after a ball and finds her neck bare. The diamond necklace she borrowed is gone, and her husband must now decide how a poor clerk can pay for it. That is the first tale in this collection, and it shows what the whole book offers: a short scene, a hidden fear and a turn you do not expect.
Library of the World's Best Mystery and Detective Stories was put together by the editor Julian Hawthorne. It gathers about twenty pieces from many lands, by Maupassant, Balzac, Voltaire, Alarcon, Apuleius and others. What links them is a puzzle, a watcher and a moment when the facts do not fit what everyone believed.
In questo riassunto
- 1A borrowed necklace costs a poor couple everythingFree
- 2Suspicion can fool a clever mind
- 3Fear works best on what we cannot see
- 4A last night can hold a heavy secret
- 5A diary records a mind losing its footing
- 6Strange tales that mock belief and wonder
- 7Two German tales about watching and waiting
- 8Bargains with power and a mother's long wait
- 9A wise man is punished for reading clues
- 10Courts, crimes and ghosts from Spain to Rome
Punto chiave 1 di 10
A borrowed necklace costs a poor couple everything
In The Necklace, the pretty Mathilde Loisel is married to a minor official. She feels she was born for luxury and suffers over her shabby walls, worn chairs and ugly curtains. Her husband is happy with a plain pot of stew.
One evening he brings home an invitation to a ball at the Ministry. She weeps over having nothing to wear, so he gives her four hundred francs, the sum he was saving for a hunting gun. Then she needs jewels, and she borrows a diamond necklace from her rich friend Madame Forestier. At the ball she is prettier than every other woman, and she dances until four in the morning.
At home she looks in the mirror and the necklace is gone. Her husband searches the streets and finds nothing. They buy a matching necklace for thirty-six thousand francs and borrow half the price from lenders. One night of vanity becomes a debt that will rule their lives. The wish to look rich can cost far more than being poor.
That’s 1 of 10 key points.
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Questions about La biblioteca dei migliori racconti del mistero e polizieschi del mondo
What is Library of the World's Best Mystery and Detective Stories about?
It is a collection of about twenty mystery, ghost and detective tales from many countries and ages. They include The Necklace, The Horla, Melmoth Reconciled, Zadig the Babylonian, The Nail and a ghost letter by Pliny the Younger.
Who wrote the stories in this book?
Julian Hawthorne edited the volume. The authors include Guy de Maupassant, Honoré de Balzac, Voltaire, Erckmann-Chatrian, Villiers de l'Isle Adam, Pierre Mille, Pedro de Alarcon, Luigi Capuana, Apuleius and Pliny the Younger.
Why is Zadig counted as a detective story?
Zadig reads small clues, such as paw prints and dust on leaves, to describe an animal he never saw. The editor's preface says this made Voltaire an early author of the detective tale, though his aim was satire.
Are the stories true?
Most are fiction, written between ancient times and the nineteenth century. Pliny's letter is a real letter that retells ghost stories he heard, and The Horla is a made-up diary that reflects the author's own fears.
Is it easy to read one story at a time?
The collection brings together detective stories and tales of mystery and horror, with selections such as Fear and The Nail.
Cite this edition
Library of the World's Best Mystery and Detective Stories. Library of Alexandria, 2026, libraryofalexandria.com/products/library-of-the-worlds-best-mystery-and-detective-stories.
Library of the world's best mystery and detective stories. (2026). Library of Alexandria. https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/library-of-the-worlds-best-mystery-and-detective-stories
Library of the World's Best Mystery and Detective Stories. Library of Alexandria, 2026. https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/library-of-the-worlds-best-mystery-and-detective-stories.
@book{anonymous2026library,
title = {Library of the World's Best Mystery and Detective Stories},
publisher = {Library of Alexandria},
year = {2026},
url = {https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/library-of-the-worlds-best-mystery-and-detective-stories}
}
