A Day in the Country and Other Stories

This selection of twenty-seven stories shows Maupassant at his comic,cruel, and brilliant best. In addition to the poignant title story, it includesone of the most famous tales ever written, The Necklace , and Le Horla, anaccount of a disintegrating personality that chillingly parallels the author'sown decline into madness. All the stories demonstrate his genius for inventionand his ability to write unblinkingly about the absurdity of the humancondition, supporting Henry James' claim that in the annals of story-telling,Maupassant stands 'like a lion in the path'.