Wilkie collins

Ahead of a new TV adaptation of Wilkie Collins’s The Moonstone, John Mullan explains how The Girl on the Train’s themes of adultery, murder and secret identity are rooted in the Victorian era

'The first, the longest, and the best of modern English detective novels' T S Eliot When Rachel Verinder receives a gift of an astonishing yellow diamond from her bitter old uncle for her eighteenth birthday, she has no idea that the stone brings great danger with it. When the diamond goes missing during the night the ensuing investigations gradually bring to light the sinister history of the jewel and the passions and plots of those close to Rachel. 'Probably the very finest detective story…

'A masterpiece' The Times After the tragic deaths of their parents, Magdalen and Norah discover the devastating news that they are both illegitimate and not entitled to any inheritance. Norah is forced to become a governess to earn her keep but Magdalen has grander plans and embarks on an elaborate scheme of revenge against her cold-hearted relatives. INCLUDES 'MRS ZANT AND THE GHOST'

For those who don't know, today is World Book Day! Well actually, it's the first of two World Book Days this year. The other is on April 23rd, so make a note in your diary. Why two? Well, it doesn't really matter why. After all, EVERY day should be World Book Day!

The Woman in White [Wilkie Collins] on Amazon.com. *FREE* shipping on qualifying offers. The Woman in White

The Woman in White Wilkie Collins Illustrations by John McLenan

1868. “She was unlike most girls of her age, in this- that she had ideas of her own." -Wilkie Collins, The Moonstone

(The copy of this book that I read was published over 90 years ago, so it had no cover art. Instead I used a painting from the novel.) Walter Hartright is a teacher of drawing. He takes a position in a private household, instructing two sisters. On the eve of his departure to begin his new job, Walter happens to meet a strange woman on the road; a woman clad in all white. Her eerie behavior makes an impression on Mr. Hartright, and he decides to help her. After they part ways Walter learns…

This book is regarded as the first detective novel written in the English language. There are other contestants like Edgar Allan Poe's s...