The Corbin necklace

Metadata

Gutenberg ID

76546

Title

The Corbin necklace

Language

en

Book source

Project Gutenberg

Description max 80 words

In this suspenseful domestic drama, a leg-in-a-cast narrator navigates a whirlwind of family secrets, a missing necklace, and a wedding crisis. When a mysterious Parisian guest arrives, he uncovers a web of deceit involving a stolen heirloom and a mother's desperate financial maneuvering. As a bridegroom is 'stung' by fraud, love and honor collide in a high-stakes race to save a marriage and restore family honor before a public scandal erupts.

Summary up to 500 words

In Henry Kitchell Webster's *The Corbin Necklace*, a narrator with a prosthetic leg cares for his friend Victoria during a chaotic week preceding her daughter Judy's wedding. The central conflict revolves around the Corbin necklace, a valuable heirloom that seemingly vanishes and reappears, causing immense distress. Victoria's mother, Mrs. Corbin, is revealed to be addicted to morphine and prone to erratic behavior. She had previously allowed her daughter to use an imitation necklace while hiding the real one in a bank vault. Tension escalates when Judy's fiancé, Bruce Applebury, discovers that his mother-in-law fraudulently pledged the necklace to a bank for twenty-five thousand dollars to cover her debts. Feeling 'stung' by this deception, Bruce initially refuses to marry Judy. The situation is unraveled by the arrival of Mr. Ethelbert Smith, a sharp-witted old family friend who reveals that Bruce paid the bank to retrieve the necklace, which technically belonged to the grandmother all along. Facing the prospect of a scandalous cancellation, the group devises a plan to postpone the ceremony. In a dramatic turn, Mrs. Corbin, recovering from her emotional turmoil, decides to buy back the necklace from the bank and give it to her daughter as a peace offering. She surprisingly also offers the necklace to Victoria, ending the long-standing family feud. The story concludes with Judy marrying her true love, Bill Grant, in a simple ceremony attended by the entire family, who accept the new reality. The narrative explores themes of family loyalty, the consequences of financial desperation, and the resilience of love against social pressure and deception. The resolution highlights the triumph of honesty and familial reconciliation over the shadows of deceit and addiction.

LLM editorial rating

4.2/5

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Categories

• Fiction
• Mystery