The Woman with the Velvet Necklace

The novella “A Woman with a Velvet Ribbon Around Her Neck,” also known as “The Headless Corpse,” was written in 1849 and included in the collection “One Thousand and One Ghosts”—a literary collection containing five mystic-adventure novellas and short stories by Alexandre Dumas. These works were first published in the Paris newspaper “Constitutionalist.” The collection reflects the author’s interest in occultism and in mysterious incidents that cannot be explained rationally. Invented plots intertwine with excerpts of memoir-like and essay-like character.

The story takes place in Paris in 1793. A time of fear and terror. In France rules Madame Guillotine. But Paris remains Paris: the smell of blood mixes with the smell of gold and women. His name is Hoffmann. He left Germany, promising his fiancée to always remain faithful to her and never to play gambling games. He breaks both promises. Hoffmann meets the beautiful dancer Arsène, a woman with a velvet ribbon around her neck, and passionately falls in love with her. Realizing that Arsène is the kind of woman who is seduced only by money, Hoffmann rushes to a gambling house, pledges a locket with a portrait of his fiancée, and, constantly placing bets on the number 26, reaches a large win. He races to Arsène to throw all the gold at her feet. Hoffmann finds Arsène at the foot of the scaffold, spends a passionate night with her in a hotel, and the next morning discovers, in his bed, instead of a beautiful woman, a corpse with the severed head. The doctor explains to Hoffmann that Arsène was executed yesterday.

From the edition “Complete Works of A. Dumas (father)” — P. P. Soikin Publishing House, St. Petersburg, 1900.