Showing results by author "Wilkie Collins" in All Categories

Two junior naval officers, Cosway and Stone, have led too indulgent a lifestyle while awaiting the recall to their ship, whose sailing has been delayed by the severe illness of the captain. When the orders to board finally come, the two friends find they have insufficient money to pay their bills. Their landlady, Mrs Pounce, suggests a surprising way to settle their debt: one of them must marry her.

Heart and Science is one of Wilkie Collins' didactic novels. It is the story of young doctor Ovid Vere, who fights for his love against all resistance of his family and their immediate circle of acquaintances. The novel features a large inheritance, a secret engagement, and an evil stepmother, but what makes the novel truly remarkable is that Wilkie Collins, who was always very fond of animals, speaks out in this volume against animal cruelty in the sciences. - Summary by Carolin

Lady Lydiard has an uncomfortable bit of business to settle, and intends to do so with a five hundred pound note. But just as she is about to complete the letter with which she is to send the note off, an emergency occurs in the house, and for a little while everyone is preoccupied - be it with the sick dog Tommie, the management of the house, or a kindling love. But when everything settles down again, the note is missing. Who took it? - Summary by Carolin

"[T]he story offers the faithful reflection of a very happy time in my past life. It was written at Paris, when I had Charles Dickens for a near neighbor and a daily companion, and when my leisure hours were joyously passed with many other friends, all associated with literature and art, of whom the admirable comedian, Regnier, is now the only survivor. The revising of these pages has been to me a melancholy task. I can only hope that they may cheer the sad moments of others. The Rogue may surely claim two merits, at least, in the eyes of the new generation—he is never serious for two ...

A brilliant chemist and a shrewd businessman — die on the same day. The widow of the chemist, Mrs. Fontaine, is left with the poisons he was researching , while Mrs. Wagner is left with her husband's mental health institution reforms and his plans for hiring women along with men in his firm's offices. Mrs. Wagner believes in treating madmen gently, and requests for the funny little man Jack Straw to be released from the madhouse. At the same time, her nephew David Glenney is sent to the Frankfurt office, where he works with Mr Engelmann and Mr Keller. The Keller sun, Fritz, has fallen in ...

Possibly Wilkie Collins' most famous novel, The Woman In White remade the Gothic Horror novel by taking its characters and tropes and setting them in commonplace surroundings among "people like us", Featuring unforgettable characters such as the incomparable Count Fosco and the redoubtable Marion Halcombe (a woman for whom male Victorian readers politely inquired of Wilkie the address as they wanted to marry her), The Woman In White with its compassionate treatment of those suffering mental distress ought to be credited with having put the cause of mental health care a hundred years ahead - ...

In this gripping tale, two boys from the Foundling Hospital share the same name, leading to catastrophic repercussions in their adult lives. To set things right, two determined associates embark on a quest to locate a missing heir. Their journey plunges them into the depths of Londons mysterious wine cellars and the sun-drenched shores of the Mediterranean, traversing the treacherous Alps in winter. With danger and betrayal lurking at every turn, its the unwavering bravery of the heroine and her loyal servant that keep hope alive. Rich with vivid descriptions, diverse characters, eerie ...

In the shadows of the streets, Mercy Merrick struggles to survive until fate intertwines her path with that of the charming clergyman, Julian Gray. Yearning for a fresh start, she seizes the opportunity to leave her past behind by volunteering as a nurse during the tumultuous Franco-Prussian War of 1870. Yet, shedding her former life proves challenging, especially in a society where status is everything. When tragedy strikes and claims the life of Grace Roseberry, Mercy makes a daring choice—she assumes Graces identity and the privileges that come with it. Will she find the new beginning she...

The Frozen Deep is a dramatic love triangle set against the backdrop of an Arctic expedition. When Clara’s former lover and her fiancé embark on the same doomed voyage, supernatural visions foretell tragedy. A suspenseful tale of fate, love, and redemption.

The story is told by the clergyman to his brother as a later-life confession concerning a brush with the supernatural which he has kept a secret for many years. Before he joined the church he met and fell in love with Miss Jeromette, a Frenchwoman living alone in London. They enter into a relationship but she tells him candidly she loves another man who has deserted her. Miss Jeromette predicts the man will return to her but that she will die young and miserably.

In these modern days, when the ear may wander where once only the eye could travel, The Wilkie Collins Library invites you into chambers of secrecy, suspicion, and revelation. Here are presented, in their entirety, those narratives of shadow and sensation wherein innocence trembles, truth disguises itself, and justice waits patiently to be uncovered.By the steady glow of the lamp and the turning of each successive page, voices long silent speak again of hidden identities, perilous inheritances, devoted hearts, and crimes most cunningly contrived. Each tale unfolds as it was first told: ...

In My Ladys Money, Lady Lydiard finds herself in a precarious situation as she attempts to settle an uncomfortable business matter with a five hundred-pound note. Just as she is ready to send off her letter, a sudden emergency disrupts the household—whether its the ailing dog Tommie, the chaos of managing the home, or the sparks of budding romance, everyone is momentarily distracted. But when calm returns, the note has mysteriously vanished. Who could have taken it? Join us as the intrigue unfolds. - Summary by Carolin

Wilkie Collins was born on 8th January 1824 in Marylebone, London. He pursued his education at Mr Cole’s private boarding school in Highbury, Islington. Here, he began his literary career under unusual circumstances: the school bully would give him no peace until he had been told a bedtime story. This ‘little brute’ helped create one of England’s greatest writers.

Ontdek de betoverende wereld van 'A House to Let' via dit boeiende luisterboek. Dit gezamenlijke werk van enkele van de meest gevierde auteurs uit de 19e eeuw, waaronder Charles Dickens, Wilkie Collins, Elizabeth Gaskell en Adelaide Anne Procter, biedt een verzameling onderling verbonden verhalen die je meenemen naar de intrigerende en mysterieuze setting van een leegstaand huis.

„Armadale” ist ein Roman des englischen Schriftstellers Wilkie Collins, der als „erster Kriminalroman” der modernen Geschichte des 19. Jahrhunderts gilt. Es ist die vielschichtige Erzählung, in der es um die Schicksale zweier Männer geht, die beide den Namen Allan Armadale tragen und um die gleichnamigen Söhne dieser Männer - entfernte Cousins. Dreh- und Angelpunkt des Geschehens ist die Ermordung eines der Armadale-Väter durch seinen Namensvetter. Wilkie Collins, bekannt auch für seine Bestseller-Klassiker wie „Die Frau in Weiß“ und „Der Mondstein“, führt uns unter ...

Mr Rayburn, a widower, and his young daughter, Lucy, first meet Mrs Zant in Kensington Gardens. She is oblivious to their presence and appears to be in some sort of trance. When they next meet she astounds Rayburn with her explanation: she is convinced that a vision of her recently deceased husband had come to her with a warning...

Rosamond Frankland has married the love of her life, Leonard, who is blind. They have bought Porthgenna Tower, the manor where Rosamond grew up and where her mother died 20 years earlier. What they don't know is the dark secret that hovers over her family, that house, and the stories about a woman's ghost that haunts the north rooms. Is this a ghost story, a love story, a story with a tragic ending, or a lovely one?

After breaking off his engagement with Agnes Lockwood, Lord Montbarry marries the eccentric Countess Narona before embarking on a whirlwind honeymoon tour of Europe culminating in Venice. There they reside in the decaying Palace Hotel with the Countess' brother, Baron Rivar, and their courier, Ferrari. Lord Montbarry later dies of bronchitis and upon hearing of this from Henry Westwick, Montbarry's brother, Agnes agrees to meet with Henry at the newly renovated Palace Hotel to investigate the insurance claim that was purchased prior to his death.

Whilst writer Charles Dickens needs no introduction, his Haunted House anthology might, not least because in his role as editor he introduces a formidable array of known and lesser-known literary talents.

Young Rachel Verinder inherits a sacred Indian moonstone from her uncle. This extremely valuable gem disappears from Rachel's bedroom soon after a party is thrown in her honor to celebrate her eighteenth birthday. Believed to be stolen, a series of narratives unfold to solve the mystery of the missing moonstone. In true Collins fashion, one cannot get enough of the twists and turns in this intriguing detective story.