RIP X: 9, The Law and the Lady

I still have a couple of unread Wilkie Collins novels on my TBR shelves so I decided to pick up The Law and the Lady this season. It is one of Wilkie's later books (1875) and is a thrilling story.

Valeria is an orphan who lives with her aunt and uncle. One day she meets a man who is fishing near her home and it is basically love at first sight. The two quickly get married but, only days later, Valeria finds out that her husband might not be who he says he is. It is therefore up to Valeria to discover the truth.

Yes, this is another super vague description because some of the secrets of the story are revealed quite early and I don't want to give anything away because it's such a crazy, twisty tale. But, as you probably expect from Wilkie by now, there are questions of identity, crime, and, of course, social justice. Valeria is constantly expected to behave in a certain way simply because she is a woman. However, she also happens to be strong-willed and tenacious and this leads to a first-person account that is compelling and ultimately a bit stressful to read! It manages to be smart but insane at the same time and is a great example of Collins' genius with plots and his concern about the Victorian society's treatment of women. I had so much fun reading this book that I will probably choose another Collins to read this winter.

Peeking in the diary,
K

New Release: Wilkie Collins

I was very excited to be offered a copy of Peter Ackroyd's new Ackroyd's Brief Lives entry, Wilkie Collins. 'Tis the season where one cannot help but choose one of Wilkie's brilliant stories to indulge in as the wintry gloom approaches. And what better way to preface a Collins read (mine was The Law and the Lady this year) than by learning more about the man himself.

Small in size (not unlike Collins himself), this book nevertheless covers Wilkie's life, including so many scandals and illnesses. It was an easy read and I appreciated the opportunity to flesh out those things I already knew about one of my favorite authors. It was obvious while reading that he is also one of Ackroyd's favorites and it produced a feeling of veracity about the facts in the book -- both from faith that Ackroyd was diligent in his research and also trust that he viewed Collins' actions in a more sympathetic light that some other biographers.

I have really enjoyed Ackroyd's non-fiction (including London Under) and fiction (featuring an RIP read from five years ago) and look forward to picking up his Brief Lives volume about Poe (and eventually getting back to the very large London: The Biography).

Solving the mystery,
K

Wilkie in Winter: The Woman in White

I've had such a fun time rereading The Woman in White by Wilkie Collins for Wilkie in Winter. It was one of the first Victorian sensational novels that I read and since then it's become one of my favorite genres. I've been looking forward to a reread for many years but just never found the time (darn blogging!). But, with strong (and sometimes quite loathsome) characters, some crazy plot twists and even a compelling social message, this read has reminded me of why I need to make more time for classics.

Avoiding the man with the mice,
K

Wilkie in Winter: The Frozen Deep

from Dickens and Showbiz site

First off, a very happy 190th birthday to Wilkie Collins, born on January 8, 1824! I'm actually quite excited for his bicentennial in ten years.

As one of two reads for Wilkie in Winter, I was looking forward to this one because I hadn't read it but I had learned some of the background about it through various sources. The Frozen Deep was first written as a play in 1856 and then released as a novella in 1874. Charles Dickens had a hand in it as well, both by coming up with the original idea and also by editing it later. I was tempted to read the play version but decided on the novella instead. It still read somewhat like a play, quite simple with mostly dialogue and only a few bits of scene-setting.

I thought it worked fairly well as a novella but I have to admit that I now have a greater desire to see it performed as a play. It is a very emotional and intense story and I think that would come through much more if it was well-acted. I enjoyed the themes of love, clairvoyance and self-sacrifice and thought there was just enough of a twist to keep it interesting. I would also love to see the period polar exploration costumes. Perhaps there will be a revival of the play for the bicentennial?

Enduring the chill,
K

RIP Read 6: The Dead Secret

I'm falling behind in reviews so this is going to be more of a mention instead.

The RIP read that I finished right before the read-a-thon was The Dead Secret by Wilkie Collins. If you are a fan of Collins or even of Dickens, you will probably like this one. It's one of his earlier novels, published serially three years before The Woman in White. It can be very sentimental in parts and, as you will find in many other Collins novels, it includes an examination of social issues -- in this case, the opinions of the era on birth and position. It also has a couple of really stellar characters worthy of Dickens -- the vicar Doctor Chennery and Uncle Joseph really stand out but most of the characters are interesting for one reason or another.

The "secret" will probably seem obvious to a modern reader fairly early on even though it isn't actually revealed until right near the end. And, as has happened many times before, Oxford manages to give it away right on the back of the book. So if you have this version, try and avoid looking at the back before you start or while you're reading. For me, this means always setting the book down face-up. Luckily, this version has a really beautiful cover!

What makes this an RIP read? A gloomy, derelict "castle" (complete with ghost) and a woman driven mad by a secret that she is forced to keep for years.

Loving this view of a different era,
K

Early Review: Drood

When I was offered the chance to read a novel starring two of my favorite authors as the main characters, Wilkie Collins (as narrator) and Charles Dickens, I jumped at the chance. Drood, written by Dan Simmons, is a psychological thriller based in Victorian London. Charles Dickens is in a life-changing train accident -- perhaps too life-changing. Has he become part of a dark underworld of drug addicts, murderers and mind-controlled minions? His friend Wilkie Collins follows him to the lowest depths to find the answers.

Simmons obviously did copious amounts of research and he has possibly included every biographical fact about Dickens and Collins that is available. He has written a very tangible portrait of London, especially its seamy underbelly, in the late 19th century. Unfortunately, I didn't enjoy this book as I thought I would. Many of the highly positive reviews I have read of the novel mention that the reader hasn't read much or any of Dickens or Collins books. I, on the other hand, have read many of their stories and I just didn't find the writing convincing as the work of a 19th century novelist, especially Collins, whose style I am very familiar with. The writing isn't bad, it just isn't this particular novelist's voice.

I also disliked the way that Dickens and Collins were portrayed. I have read books where some of my literary heroes, both fictional (Sherlock Holmes) and non-fictional (Edgar Allan Poe), have been turned into villains but they were still always written as true to character. This book takes liberties with the character and habits of these men to a degree that I was uncomfortable with. I worry that this book could give people false impressions of these men and their works.

I did enjoy the way that Simmons incorporated novels such as Bleak House and The Moonstone into the book. There were some interesting insights into the books and the process of writing a serialized novel. I also appreciated the emphasis on some of the social issues of the time -- the same issues that Dickens himself wrote about -- especially poverty.

This was a unique story but I think that some parts were just a bit too far-fetched and violent and the ending seemed rushed. After over 750 pages, I would have appreciated a bit more closure. If you haven't read any books by Charles Dickens or Wilkie Collins and are interested in them, go pick up a nice Oxford edition and read the biographical information at the beginning. If you want a Victorian thriller and don't mind if the characters are true-to-life, this book is for the most part entertaining. Drood is available on February 9th.

Avoiding the seamy side of town,
K


Buy Drood: A Novel on Amazon or find it at your local library.

K's Holiday Wish List

As I'm sure you can guess, I have an Amazon wishlist and it is chock full o' books. I thought I would share with you some of the titles I am wishing for -- just in case you are pondering what to wish for.

The Oxford Book of Victorian Ghost Stories, compiled by Michael Cox and R.A. Gilbert. It was obvious from reading Michael Cox's books that this area is his specialty so I'm curious to see what stories they collected. The author list includes J.S. Le Fanu and M.R. James, of course, Elizabeth Gaskell, Wilkie Collins, Charles Dickens, Henry James, Rudyard Kipling, Robert Louis Stevenson and Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. Apparently there are 35 stories -- and for $15.99, this seems like a great deal.

The Law and the Lady, Wilkie Collins. Another blogger read this recently and liked it and it's about time that I read another Collins book. I think I actually have four or five of his books on my wishlist right now.

The Suspicions of Mr. Whicher: A Shocking Murder and the Undoing of a Great Victorian Detective, Kate Summerscale. This is a non-fiction account of a Victorian murder, investigated by one Detective Inspector Whicher from Scotland Yard. This book is supposed to be similar to The Beautiful Cigar Girl in that it goes beyond the story -- in this case, to also talk about the beginning of the modern concept of a "detective" and of forensic police methods.

The Painter of Battles: A Novel, Arturo Perez-Reverte. This is a thriller about a war photographer turned painter, trying to exorcise his demons and forget his past. Unfortunately, he is not allowed to do this when someone from his past shows up and forces him to face the repercussions of his actions. I've been waiting for a new Perez-Reverte for a while and am glad that there is one out of the Captain Alatriste series. This book sounds somewhat similar to Iain Pears' The Portrait so I'm interested to compare them.

And a few more:
The Journal of Dora Damage, Belinda Starling.

Novel Destinations: Literary Landmarks From Jane Austen's Bath to Ernest Hemingway's Key West, Shannon Mckenna Schmidt and Joni Rendon.

Uncle Silas, J. Sheridan Le Fanu.

The Enchantress of Florence: A Novel, Salman Rushdie.

Did you see anything that looks interesting? Tomorrow I will post Z's Holiday Wish List!

Always wishing for world peace,
K


Visit our Amazon e-store for a great selection of books that we have reviewed on this site.

31 Books for Fall Spooks

I made this list of 31 books from my own collection that I think are befitting the spooky season that is autumn. Fall has already made an appearance here in the Pacific Northwest as we've had the hints of a chill in the air and plenty of rain. Halloween is a favorite time of year in our house and these books are some of my favorites. I don't expect anyone to read a book a day in October but feel free to use this list to find some good horror, mystery and suspense reads.

1. Murder on the Leviathan – Boris Akunin
2. Northanger Abbey – Jane Austen
3. The Pale Blue Eye – Louis Bayard
4. Lady Audley's Secret – Mary Elizabeth Braddon
5. Wuthering Heights – Emily Bronte
6. The Melancholy Death of Oyster Boy and Other Stories – Tim Burton
7. And Then There Were None – Agatha Christie
8. Hallowe'en Party (Hercule Poirot) – Agatha Christie
9. The Ladies of Grace Adieu and Other Stories – Susanna Clarke
10. The Haunted Hotel – Wilkie Collins
11. The Book of Lost Things – John Connolly
12. The Meaning of Night: A Confession – Michael Cox
13. Roald Dahl's Book of Ghost Stories – Roald Dahl
14. Best Ghost Stories – Charles Dickens
15. The Stolen Child – Keith Donohue
16. The Historian – Elizabeth Kostova
17. The Phantom of the Opera – Gaston Leroux
18. The Dream Stealer – Gregory Maguire
19. Lost: A Novel – Gregory Maguire
20. The Lighthouse at the End of the World – Stephen Marlowe
21. The Dante Club – Matthew Pearl
22. The Portrait – Iain Pears
23. The Raven and Other Stories – Edgar Allan Poe
24. Vincent Price: A Daughter's Biography – Victoria Price
25. The Shadow of the Wind – Carlos Ruiz Zafon
26. The Thirteenth Tale – Diane Setterfield
27. Frankenstein – Mary Shelley
28. Into the Mummy's Tomb – John Richard Stephens, editor
29. Dracula – Bram Stoker
30. Brat Farrar – Josephine Tey
31. The Picture of Dorian Gray – Oscar Wilde

If you choose any of these books to read this season, come back to this post and let me know what you thought of them!

Boo!
K

Just A Little More Mystery

I was going to write about the book I just finished today but I ran into this great article so I'm going to write about it instead. You will get to hear about The Satanic Verses next time!

I'm friends on a social network with the author R.N. Morris and he pointed out this article today in the Books section of The Independent. It's called "Crime fiction: Around the world in 80 sleuths". It lists eighty locales and talks about a detective or two in each location. Some are familiar but some are new to me and I can't wait to check them out.

Here are some of my favorites that are listed:

Greenland -- Smilla's Sense of Snow (the article translates it as Miss Smilla's Feeling for Snow) by Peter Hoeg
Yorkshire -- The Moonstone by Wilkie Collins
St. Petersburg -- A Gentle Axe by R.N. Morris
Moscow -- The Winter Queen by Boris Akunin
West Point, New York -- The Pale Blue Eye by Louis Bayard
The Caribbean -- A Caribbean Mystery by Agatha Christie
Egypt -- Death on the Nile by Agatha Christie
New Zealand -- Vintage Murder by Ngaio Marsh

I hope to do write-ups on most of these later because they are really good reads. And that leaves only 72 more detectives and series for me to discover. I can't wait!

Good reading,
K