Book Description
This book was converted from its physical edition to the digital format by a community of volunteers. You may find it for free on the web. Purchase of the Kindle edition includes wireless delivery.Download Description
He suggested waiting a little before any reply was sent to Paris; and he engaged meanwhile to consult a London solicitor who had great experience in cases of theft, and whose advice might enable them to dispense entirely with the services of the French police. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

help
one major complaint of most of all the collins classics that I have ordered is that they are not unabridged. It is almost impossible to determine if the book has been edited before it is ordered on line. ... Read more

Book Description
This book was converted from its physical edition to the digital format by a community of volunteers. You may find it for free on the web. Purchase of the Kindle edition includes wireless delivery. ... Read more

Book Description
This book was converted from its physical edition to the digital format by a community of volunteers. You may find it for free on the web. Purchase of the Kindle edition includes wireless delivery. ... Read more

Book Description
This book was converted from its physical edition to the digital format by a community of volunteers. You may find it for free on the web. Purchase of the Kindle edition includes wireless delivery. ... Read more

Book Description
This book was converted from its physical edition to the digital format by a community of volunteers. You may find it for free on the web. Purchase of the Kindle edition includes wireless delivery.Download Description
Heart all right, said the doctor. Lungs all right. No organic disease that I can discover. Philip Lefrank, don't alarm yourself. You are not going to die yet. The disease you are suffering from is - overwork. The remedy in your case is - rest. ... Read more

Book Description
This book was converted from its physical edition to the digital format by a community of volunteers. You may find it for free on the web. Purchase of the Kindle edition includes wireless delivery. ... Read more

Book Description
This book was converted from its physical edition to the digital format by a community of volunteers. You may find it for free on the web. Purchase of the Kindle edition includes wireless delivery. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

Only for diehard Wilkie Collins fans
This book is definitely not another Woman in White or The Moonstone, both wonderfully well-written mysteries.For those who absolutely have to read every word that Collins wrote, this book is recommended.The plot is fairly boring and the characters fairly uninteresting.Overall, a slow and somewhat dull read.

Eyes blinded by love may open on delusion
This last of Wilkie Collins' novels is far more readable than one might suppose, given the relatively mediocre quality of his late work. Readers should be warned not to expect the same high level of intricate villainy,mystery, and subtle plotting that distinguished Collins' earlier, morefamous books, and they will also have benignly to overlook someunnecessarily heavy-handed narrative intrusions from the author and hisabsurd harping on differences between the Celtic and Saxon temperaments (tothe detriment of the former). But "Blind Love" is lively and fullof incident, the heroine's predicament touches on serious moral issues, andthe core events in the story are told with drama and zest. A young ladynamed Iris Henley defies friends and family to marry the ne'er-do-wellscion of an Irish noble house, Lord Harry Norland, to whom she isirresistibly attracted (the "blind love" of the title). Charming,handsome, and reckless, Harry is not really a bad sort at heart, but helacks the backbone to make something of himself, is prone to rash actionand to running through money, and finds it far too easy to grasp at anyexpedient if his back is to the wall. When the married couple's financialresources start to grow slim in Paris, Harry lets himself be tempted to aseries of criminal acts by his unscrupulous associate Dr. Vimpany, who hasconceived a nefarious plan for filling their coffers once more.Out ofloyalty to her husband, but ignorant of the true nature of his deeds, Irisyields to Harry's persuasion and becomes his reluctant accomplice in thefinal stage of Vimpany's plot, the commission of an insurance fraud.Butremorse quickly burdens her tender conscience and the happiness of themarriage is irrevocably destroyed. To say more would be to spoil what smallsurprises lie in store for the reader.In "Blind Love" suspensearises not from the need to unavel what took place, and how, but from theinteraction between the characters. The first third of the novel is marredby the almost comic implausibility of the scenes between Harry and Iris,who is vainly striving to resist her natural impulse to fling herself intohis arms, whereas the conclusion is flawed by the summary,just-winding-up-the-plot retribution meted out to the evil-doers and Iris'foregone consignment to a staid new marriage with her formerly rejectedsuitor, the patient and unwavering Hugh Montjoy.But the central portionof this novel, where Collins probes the Norland menage and its tell-taletensions, and then implacably details the criminal scheme, is as absorbingas any Collins admirer could desire. ... Read more

Book Description
This book was converted from its physical edition to the digital format by a community of volunteers. You may find it for free on the web. Purchase of the Kindle edition includes wireless delivery.Download Description
It may be that women have no positive appreciation of what is beautiful in form and color--or it may be that they have no opinions of their own when the laws of fashion have spoken. This at least is certain, that not one of them in a thousand sees anything objectionable in the gloomy and hideous evening costume of a gentleman in the nineteenth century. A handsome man is, to their eyes, more seductive than ever in the contemptible black coat and the stiff white cravat. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Victorian prejudice
This book contains tiresome characters in an anti-catholic setting.For a Wilkie Collins book, it is absolutely dreadful.Still, it is a Collins book, so at least it is well written.A man and woman marry.A Jesuit,out to get the man's property, breaks up the marriage and succeeds inmaking everyone miserable, including the reader. While I had heard of theprejudice against Jews and Catholics in Victorian England, it never hithome until I read this book. ... Read more

Book Description
This book was converted from its physical edition to the digital format by a community of volunteers. You may find it for free on the web. Purchase of the Kindle edition includes wireless delivery. ... Read more

Book Description
This book was converted from its physical edition to the digital format by a community of volunteers. You may find it for free on the web. Purchase of the Kindle edition includes wireless delivery.Download Description
Now for the Law of Clandestine Marriage! said Lady Winwood. "Mr. Linzie, we will take it sitting." She led the way to one of the benches in the garden, and placed Launce between Natalie and herself. "Well, Chief Conspirator, have you got the License? No? Does it cost too much? Can I lend you the money?" ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

A Light (Very Light) Romance
This is a throw away book for Wilkie Collins.It's a short romance with a subplot about a murderous sea captain.Well worth a read if it falls in your lap, but no masterpiece. ... Read more

Book Description
This book was converted from its physical edition to the digital format by a community of volunteers. You may find it for free on the web. Purchase of the Kindle edition includes wireless delivery.Download Description
Regard for the lovers of the Old Masters, and for the moral well-being of society, forbids me to be particular about the nature of my labors, or to go into dangerous detail on the subject of my first failures and my subsequent success. I may, however, harmlessly admit that my Rembrandt was to be of the small or cabinet size, and that, as there was a run on Burgomasters just then, my subject was naturally to be of the Burgomaster sort. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (4)

Delightful and Amusing!
Prior to reading this, A Rogue's Life, I had only read the most obvious and popular works by Wilkie Collins, The Woman in White and The Moonstone.Of course, I loved those books - so when I saw A Rogue's Life at my local bookstore, I picked it up.I was attracted by the description on the inside cover of the narrator, who has failed at a variety of pursuits and become 'disenchanted with life.'Perhaps I, at times, think of myself as a bit of a rogue, so upon reading the description I immediately purchased the book.

This book is delightful.Wilkie Collins is all about sensation and entertainment - and his is a great writer to boot!However, the book description got it wrong.The narrator is never 'disenchanted with life.'Despite his many setbacks, he always approaches life with optimism.In fact, in the foreword, Collins mentions the tone of 'boisterious gaiety' that pervades the work, attributing it to the grand life he was leading at the time in Paris.As a result, this short novel is filled with humor and adventure, and surfs along on a tide of good cheer.Add in the fact that it was serialized, and you get those wonderful cliffhanger chapter endings that just keep you reading!

Ahead of it's time.
Since it was written in 1856 it's far ahead of it's time. It's a simple, humurous, tale of the misadventures of one man. He carries on like he could be a distant relative of Don Quixote. It keeps you entertained and if nothing else, when all is said and done, will bring a smile to your face.

An entertaining story of personal transformation
Frank Softly is introduced to a range of professions by a father hoping he'll make a fortune - but Frank finds work a challenge and by age 25 he has many failed careers to his name. He's lost and wandering - until he meets one Alicia and her rich father. An entertaining story of personal transformation emerges in a pick especially recommended for college-level literary holdings already containing his better-known novels, who want to add depth to their treatment of Wilkie Collins.

Wilkie Collins scores with Softly tale
I just laughed and rejoiced in this short tale of intrigue of the protagonist Frank Softly.And what a rogue he is, indeed, and ever more likely to gain a place in a confidence game of the worst sort, confeiting, no less.What fun to venture across England and into Wales and Scotland with this upper middle class scoundrel and hear his adventures "in his own words".Sort of made me think of Henry Fielding's Tom Jones character, and some the the delicious characters of Dickens' own creations as well.I am currently immersed in catching up on my Wilkie Collins' reads and highly recommend that other readers do the same. ... Read more

Book Description
This book was converted from its physical edition to the digital format by a community of volunteers. You may find it for free on the web. Purchase of the Kindle edition includes wireless delivery.Download Description
On a summer's morning, between thirty and forty years ago, two girls were crying bitterly in the cabin of an East Indian passenger ship, bound outward, from Gravesend to Bombay. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

Wilkie Collins in good form..
In general, I have not been impressed with the works of Wilkie Collins outside his "big 4" novels ('The Woman in White', 'No Name', 'Armadale', and 'The Moonstone').'Man and Wife' was written right after 'The Moonstone', the last of his really successful novels.Sadly, this novel is unjustly overlooked by Wilkie Collins fans.It's actually a fun read.

'Man and Wife' is a complicated story about a young couple, and their friends/family, caught up in the consequences of lax marriage laws during the Victorian era.At that time folks in Scotland were considered married if they simply announced it.No need for marriage licenses, blood tests, etc.Wilkie Collins's gift of building the suspense works well, and the book's ending is unexpected (and terrific).

'Man and Wife' is every bit as good as, say, 'The Moonstone'.However for Wilkie Collins neophytes I suggest first trying 'The Woman in White' or 'No Name' (..both are my favorites).

PS - I think the previous reviewer is mistaken.This book has nothing to do with intrusive mother-in-laws.

The Agony of Divorce
This was actually a fun read.It's an anti-mother-in-law book. It's also about divorce.Despite the Victorian horror of the subject, I can't help thinking that we modern folk could learn something from this book.Littlethings mostly, like avoiding temptation and not placing your spouse intemptation.Probably the biggest thing I learned was not to have yourmother-in-law live with you.Good advice in any age. ... Read more

Book Description
Probably the first full-length novel with a woman detective as its heroine, The Law and the Lady (1875) is a fascinating example of Collins' later fiction.Valeria Valerie Woodville'sfirst act as a married woman is to sign her name incorrectly in the marriage register; this slip is followed
by a gradual disclosure of secrets about her husband's earlier life, each of which leads to another set of questions and enigmas.Developing many of the techniques at work in The Moonstone in bizarre and unexpected ways, and employing both Gothic and fantastic elements, The Law and the Lady adds a
significant dimension to the history of the detective novel. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (7)

The Law and the Lady
Great mystery.It holds your interest from the beginning until the end!Wilkie Collins novels are all great!

Very Readable Classic Amateur Detective Fiction
As a general rule I rarely enjoy the novels assigned in classical literature classes but I can usually appreciate the work for its merits.I was pleasantly surprised by The Law and the Lady because it is very readable, the first hurdle in making an assigned piece of literature more than just required text.

Though it is tame by today's standards, Collins presents the relatively new concept of the "amateur detective" and even goes so far as to make his protagonist a woman, very unusual (and almost scandalous) by Victorian standards.To make the novel acceptable in the time it was published, Collins is very careful to temper his progressive ideas with plenty of references to Valeria Macallan's feminine weaknesses and multiple uses of the phrase "only a woman" but he constructed a foundation that scores of female writers and characters have built upon.Keep your eye out for parallels to the classic "Oedipus Rex" story and how Collins treats the gender role-reversal of Valeria and Eustace.

All in all, not an unpleasant book to read if required to do so.Experienced readers will recognize that, despite its faults, The Law and the Lady was very provocative when written and really jump-started the genre of female P.I.s that is so common and popular today.Valeria could be considered the great-grandmother of Kinsey Millhone or V.I. Warshawski.

Engaging Story of Lady Detective Challenging Victorian World
Many fans and critics agree that Wilkie Collins' writing talent declined after the gripping "The Moonstone," and his works in the 1870s and 80s are sometimes dismissed as misfires of once-genius mystery writer.Though part of the low estimation is reasonable (and some of the works in this era testifies to this opinion), many of them are still readable and interesting. And "The Law and the Lady" should be classified among those neglected pieces.

Probably the first full-length novel featuring female detective, the novel follows the story of heroine Valeria, who marries Eustace happily in the opening of the book.However, she discovers behind the happy marriage a terrible secret, which involved an unsolved murder case in her newly-wed husband's past, and soon she realizes that her husband is not exactly what she thought.To clear her tainted (and his) family name, Valeria single-handedly embarks on a job of amateur detective.

To fully relish the story, you have to remember several things: one of them is that the book is partly inspired by the real-life case of Madeline Smith, who, it was alleged, disposed of her lover with arsenic.Collins made use of this well-known, sensational case, changing the sex of the accused, and he deftly challenges many concepts embedded in morally strict Victorians.So, when Valeria appoints herself as a detective, her "job" (in Victorian society in which ladies are supposed not to work, with the possible exception of poorly-paid governess) starts to have another meaning.Collins, on the one hand attacking the insufficient laws of Scotland, which giveits unique "Not-Proven" verdict to the accused when the jury cannot decide whether or not he/she is guilty, also challenges the morally rigid Victorian ideas about male/female concept.This is not to say Wilkie Collins is a feminist; but considering he never married (but, it is generally agreed, had two mistresses), his unique ideas about contemporary males and females are reflected in this seemingly starange work.

And as a detective novel, "The Law and The lady" has still power to entertain us.Though its beginning part is a little shaky because of implausible situations, the book gradually gets you into the thrilling adventure of Valeria, who overcomes all the barriars on her way to the truth.Though the fact that Collins' best work(s) is "The Moonstone" or "The Woman in White," this book is enjoyable. shows some version of Victorian ideas about the roles of males and females.

By the way, it is argued that the first fictional female detective (including amateur) is also created by Collins in his short story "The Diary of Anne Rodway." (1856)This short can be found in most of the collection of his short stories.But if you know another contender for the first female PI, let me know.

This Book Should Be Outlawed
I truly feel sorry for anyone who is required to read this book.It is by far one of the worst pieces of literature I have ever read, and I read a lot of books.
I found there was no suspense to the writing, since from the beginning, the reader was able to suspect what the outcome was going to be, and was proven right by the time you read the last paragraph.I personally found the book boring to read, because I guessed what the outcome was going to be, and every chapter confirmed my suspicions.I found the plot development to be very poor, with stereotypes imbedded in several characters, especially the main character.
I don't wish to give away the ending of the book completely, but I will say this much-- when you base your whole plot on a madman, is there any plot at all?The author uses his "villian" as a crutch, using the character's lunacy as an escape route for any unbound plot threads.
I personally recommend you don't waste your time on this book, if you're looking for a some good classics, try "Jane Eyre" or "David Copperfield".

Three and a half stars
Wilkie Collins is most famous for his classic mysteries, "The Moonstone" and "The Woman in White."Both were influences to 20th century mystery masters like Dorothy Sayers.In "The Law and the Lady" first published in 1875, Collins focuses on the plight of Valeria Woodville who unwittingly marries a man previously tried for poisoning his first wife.Evidence and testimony could not convince the jury of his guilt or innocence, and an unusual Scotch verdict of "Not Proven" is handed down.He assumes a new name and conceals his tainted past when he marries Valeria.She, however, proves to be a very perceptive and resourceful woman who discovers the truth on her own.Unshaken in her love, she vows to clear her husband's name and reputation in order to secure their future happiness.

*** In his signature works, Collins often frustrates the reader's patience with his lengthy narrative style.But "The Law and the Lady" moves along surprisingly well.Despite some ridiculous and dated perceptions about the sexes (Collins frequently has characters and Valeria herself remark that she's "only a woman"), Valeria's actions prove she's admirably keen and the one to get things rolling.

*** Collins should also get points for introducing the outrageously campy, scene-stealing characters of the lunatic genius Misserimus Dexter and his devoted, but moronic cousin Ariel.Missing both his legs, Dexter scoots around either like the "new centaur" (half-man, half wheel chair) or on his hands like a "frog".It's this added element of circus freakshow that effectively ruffles the otherwise creaky Victorian setting. ... Read more

Book Description
In this intimate Victorian life of the father of the detective story, Mr. Clarke uncovers and explores, with insight and sympathy, the private relationships of a fascinating writer. A literary coup...casts a fresh beam of light on the great, dark seam of Victorian sexual mores. --Observer ... Read more