By the time "The Necklace" was first published, Maupassant had already established his reputation as one of France's foremost short story writers. Boule de suif, which appeared in an 1880 collection of stories by several authors, made him an instant member of the literary elite. "The Necklace," however, was considerably different from Maupassant's previous stories; its trick ending surprised many of his readers who were not used to such a jarring reversal of meaning at the end of a story. Other readers of Maupassant thought that the short story format was beneath him, and they would have preferred that he write novels instead.

American readers of the time, however, were fascinated by the author. The first English translation of Maupassant's stories, an 1888 collection entitled The Odd Number because it contained thirteen tales, included "The Necklace." In the book's introduction, Henry James, a prominent American writer and advocate...