Several optically active 1, 2-cyclopropanedicarboxylic anhydrides and imides were prepared and their chiroptical spectra studied. Despite the strained bicyclic skeleton of these compounds, their CD spectra show an unusual solvent dependence. This phenomenon can be explained in terms of the cyclopropane ring contribution to the Cotton effect. A deviation of the skeleton and the anhydride or imide group from the local C, symmetry, shown by ...