Collins, Wilkie 1824-1889

The moonstone by Wilkie Collins ( Book )
821 editions published between 1800 and 2014 in 5 languages and held by 15,349 WorldCat member libraries worldwide
"A wonderful yellow diamond stolen from the forehead of the four-handed Indian god who typifies the moon, stolen again and again through centuries, and always bringing with it disaster upon its possessors and the households of its possessors."--This is the beginning of the detective story called 'The moonstone."

No name by Wilkie Collins ( Book )
184 editions published between 1800 and 2014 in 3 languages and held by 4,352 WorldCat member libraries worldwide
"Magdalen Vanstone and her sister Norah learn the true meaning of social stigma in Victorian England only after the traumatic discovery that their dearly loved parents, whose sudden deaths have left them orphans, were not married at the time of their birth. Disinherited by law and brutally ousted from Combe-Raven, the idyllic country estate which has been their peaceful home since childhood, the two young women are left to fend for themselves. While the submissive Norah follows a path of duty and hardship as a governess, her high-spirited and rebellious younger sister has made other decisions. Determined to regain her rightful inheritance at any cost, Magdalen uses her unconventional beauty and dramatic talent in recklessly pursuing her revenge. Aided by the audacious swindler Captain Wragge, she braves a series of trials leading up to the climactic test: can she trade herself in marriage to the man she loathes?" "Written in the early 1860s, between The Woman in White and The Moonstone, No Name was rejected as immoral by critics of its time, but is today regarded as a novel of outstanding social insight, showing Collins at the height of his powers."--Jacket

Armadale by Wilkie Collins ( Book )
193 editions published between 1800 and 2014 in 8 languages and held by 4,216 WorldCat member libraries worldwide
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

The law and the lady by Wilkie Collins ( )
133 editions published between 1800 and 2014 in English and German and held by 4,064 WorldCat member libraries worldwide
Valeria Woodville in The Law and the Lady (1875) must unravel the secrets of her husband's earlier life; she takes the law into her own hands and becomes one of the first woman detectives in fiction

The haunted hotel a mystery of modern Venice by Wilkie Collins ( )
135 editions published between 1878 and 2014 in 3 languages and held by 3,909 WorldCat member libraries worldwide
After the mysterious murder of her husband, Mrs. Ferrari receives an envelope postmarked Venice and containing a thousand pounds

The queen of hearts by Wilkie Collins ( )
106 editions published between 1800 and 2014 in English and held by 2,828 WorldCat member libraries worldwide
An early innovator in the genre of mystery and detective fiction, Wilkie Collins gained an enormous readership during his lifetime. Though many readers became hooked on his work due to his meticulous plotting and mastery with suspense, critics say that Collins' popularity endured as a result of his incisive social insight and commentary. "The queen of hearts" is a masterpiece of Victorian-era detective fiction and a rewarding read for fans of classic mysteries

Man and wife by Wilkie Collins ( )
138 editions published between 1800 and 2014 in 3 languages and held by 2,522 WorldCat member libraries worldwide
At the novel's center is the plight of a woman who fears that the archaic marriage laws of Scotland and Ireland may have forced her into committing unintentional bigamy. As the novel progresses, the atmosphere grows increasingly sinister when the setting moves from a country house to a London suburb and a world of confinement, plotting, and murder

Miss or mrs.? by Wilkie Collins ( )
75 editions published between 1872 and 2014 in 3 languages and held by 2,521 WorldCat member libraries worldwide
Persons possessed of sluggish livers and tender hearts find two serious drawbacks to the enjoyment of a cruise at sea. It is exceedingly difficult to get enough walking exercise; and it is next to impossible (where secrecy is an object) to make love without being found out. Reverting for the moment to the latter difficulty only, life within the narrow and populous limits of a vessel may be defined as essentially life in public. . .

The evil genius by Wilkie Collins ( )
110 editions published between 1885 and 2014 in 3 languages and held by 2,355 WorldCat member libraries worldwide
When Sydney Westerfield's mother remarries she leaves her daughter in a school in London. The life there is pale and without joy. In secret, Sydney advertizes for a position as a governess and gets a reply from a compassionate family in Scotland. But will she betray her benefactors with her own secret agenga of needs and desires

The new magdalen by Wilkie Collins ( )
135 editions published between 1873 and 2014 in 3 languages and held by 2,011 WorldCat member libraries worldwide
In 1870, during the heart of the war between France and Germany, two women's lives tragically and fatefully intersect. When Grace Roseberry, an Englishwoman traveling home, is struck by a mortar shell, French nurse Mercy Merrick seizes upon the chance to escape her checkered past and reinvent herself in England