Wilkie Collins
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First published serially in 1868, Wilkie Collins's "The Moonstone" is generally considered the first full length detective novel in the English language. The Moonstone, a large and valuable, yellow diamond, plundered from an Indian temple by Colonel Herncastle during the Siege of Seringapatam, is rumored to bring bad luck to its owner. The Colonel bequeathes the diamond to his niece Rachel Verinder on her eighteenth birthday. At her birthday party,...
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I am going to try if I can't write something about myself. My life has been rather a strange one. It may not seem particularly useful or respectable; but it has been, in some respects, adventurous; and that may give it claims to be read, even in the most prejudiced circles. I am an example of some of the workings of the social system of this illustrious country on the individual native, during the early part of the present century; and, if I may say...
4) No Name
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No Name is a 19th-century novel by the master of sensation fiction, Wilkie Collins. A country gentleman is killed in an accident and his wife dies shortly after him. The blow is double for their daughters, who discover that they were born before their parents were married. Their sudden illegitimacy robs them of their inheritance and their accustomed place in society.
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In The Haunted Hotel , Wilkie Collins weaves a chilling tale of mystery and revenge set against the backdrop of a cursed Italian hotel. When Captain Wragge inherits the haunted property, he becomes entangled in its dark history, uncovering a web of deceit, murder, and hidden fortunes. As guests experience unexplained phenomena and mysterious deaths occur, the story unfolds through multiple narratives, revealing the hotel's sinister past. At its core...
6) Antonina
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In preparing to compose a fiction founded on history, the writer of these pages thought it no necessary requisite of such a work that the principal characters appearing in it should be drawn from the historical personages of the period. On the contrary, he felt that some very weighty objections attached to this plan of composition. He knew well that it obliged a writer to add largely from invention to what was actually known - to fill in with the...
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In No Name Volume 1 , Wilkie Collins introduces a gripping tale of identity, inheritance, and social injustice. After their father's death, Magdalen and Norah Vanstone discover they are illegitimate and thus denied their rightful inheritance. Determined to reclaim what is theirs, Magdalen, the more resourceful sister, devises a daring plan to expose the deceit surrounding their birth. As they navigate a world that rejects them, alliances are formed...
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A fascinating short story by the renowned author of The Woman in White, Captain Stanwick and Lionel Varleigh are old friends, but after falling out over their attentions to Bertha Laroche, they fight an illegal duel in Herne Wood. Stanwick, wrongly convinced he has killed Varleigh, goes mad and attempts to kill himself with a razor … when his supposed victim returns like an apparition from the dead.
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In No Name Volume 3, the climax of Magdalen Vanstone's quest for justice unfolds as she navigates a web of deception and danger. Her daring schemes to expose the truth about her family's inheritance reach their peak, revealing hidden betrayals and long-buried secrets. Meanwhile, Norah faces her own trials, balancing personal happiness with familial duty. As tensions escalate, the sisters confront the consequences of their choices, testing their resilience...
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In Armadale Volume 1, Wilkie Collins introduces a tale of mystery and psychological suspense. Two strangers, Allan Armadale and Ozias Midwinter, meet under eerie circumstances, bound by a shared name and a dark prophecy. As their lives intertwine, secrets from the past resurface, threatening both men. The arrival of Lydia Gwilt, a cunning and alluring woman with her own hidden agenda, adds complexity to the unfolding drama. Set against the backdrop...
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Kitty is the child of Herbert and Catherine Linley, a spoiled, coddled little girl who is at the same time—in the tradition of all Victorian children—adorable. The Evil Genius begins with the story of Kitty's ill-fated governess Sydney Westerfield, a girl thrown aside in the grand tradition of Jane Eyre and David Copperfield.
And now an "evil genius" is threatening to rip apart the fabric of the Linley home. Who is...
And now an "evil genius" is threatening to rip apart the fabric of the Linley home. Who is...
13) The Dream Woman
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A man's recurring dream of his demise becomes a living nightmare.
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In The Moonstone Volume 1, Wilkie Collins introduces a gripping tale of mystery and intrigue. The story begins with the theft of the Moonstone, a priceless diamond, during Rachel Verinder's birthday party. Tensions rise as suspicions swirl among family and friends, unraveling secrets and hidden motives. Narrated through multiple perspectives, the narrative weaves a complex web of deception, betrayal, and obsession. Sergeant Cuff, the brilliant detective,...
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William, the narrator and faithful servant to rich widow, Mrs. Norcross, tells the story of his mistress' unhappy second marriage to James Smith. A detective lawyer's clerk, Mr. Dark, both confirms Smith's bigamous remarriage and, following his disappearance, proves Mrs. Norcross and William innocent of murder. Dark also recovers jewelry stolen by the maidservant and establishes her guilt.
16) The Yellow Mask
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The Yellow Mask, a gothic romance filled with mystery and suspense that will hold you riveted from beginning to end. A scheming priest, Father Rocco of Pisa, decides the inheritance and great wealth of Count Fabio d'Ascoli was stolen from the church many generations ago and aims to steal it back. In order to do so, the priest manipulates Fabio's true love, the sweet model Nanina, to leave Pisa. ather Rocco then engineers a wedding between Fabio and...
17) Armadale
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If you can't get enough of classic British mystery novels, dive into this spine-tingling tale of mistaken identity penned by Wilkie Collins, the author of The Woman in White and The Moonstone. The tale, told partly through letters and documents, recounts the intertwined lives and fates of two distant cousins who both happen to bear the name 'Allan Armadale.'