Product Description

`"Oh, my God! to think of that kind-hearted, lovely young woman, who brings happiness with her wherever she goes, bringing terror to me! Terror when her pitying eyes look at me; terror when her kind voice speaks to me; terror when her tender hand touches mind!" ' Porthgenna Tower on the remote western Cornish coast. Moments before her death, Mrs Treverton dictates a secret to her maid, never to be passed to her husband as she had instructed. Fifteen years later, when Mrs Treverton's daughter, Rosamond, returns to Porthgenna with her blind husband, Leonard, she is intrigued by the strange and seemingly disturbed Mrs Jazeph's warning not to enter the Myrtle Room in the ruined north wing. Strong-minded and ingenious, Rosamond's determined detective work uncovers shocking and unsettling truths beyond all expectation. A mystery of unrelenting suspense and psychologically penetrating characters, The Dead Secret explores the relationship between a fallen woman, her illegitimate daughter, and buried secrets in a superb blend of romance and Gothic drama. Wilkie Collins's fifth novel, The Dead Secret anticipates the themes of his next novel, The Woman in White in its treatment of mental illness, disguise and deception, and the dispossession of lost identity. Yet a series of comic figures offsets the tension, from the dyspeptic Mr Phippen to the perpetually smiling governess, Miss Sturch. Displaying the talent and energy which made Collins the most popular novelist of the 1860s, The Dead Secret represents a crucial phase in Collins's rise as a mystery writer, and was his first full-length novel written specifically for serialization.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #17683 in Books
• Published on: 2008-07-10
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 416 pages

About the Author
Ira B. Nadel is Professor of English at the University of British Columbia in Vancouver.

Customer Reviews

Absorbing and entertaining tale from a master storyteller
Anyone who has enjoyed Wilkie Collins' better known novels, and is looking to venture into new Collins territory, should enjoy this tale.

We are on familiar Collins terrain - an air of suspense haunts the narrative, there is a strong female lead and there is a mystery to be unraveled. What is not so familiar is the spelling out of that mystery - the dead secret of the title - fairly early on in the book.

However, as ever, Collins is the consummate storyteller and the reader remains gripped by seeing just how the various threads of the plot will be unraveled. For a mystery solved in part one, there is plenty to keep the reader page turning to the very end.

The novel was serialized in Household Words, and the Dickensian links are there for all to see. Particularly in characters such as the genial Uncle Joseph, or the stiff and pompous steward Mr Munder.

However, Collins is a strong writer in his own right. I do my reading on a commuter train to London, and the nicest thing about this book is it's delightful escapism - it is very absorbing and intelligent without being over-taxing.

The Dead Secret is dead good
Warning: this review contains spoilers

This is another of those early Wilkie Collins' novels which display many of the themes and preoccupations which found fruit in his greatest novels 'The Woman in White' and 'The Moonstone' - a strong narrative drive and bags of atmosphere.

The secret is easy to fathom early on, but that does not detract from enjoying the novel.

Highlights are the account of Mrs Treverton's death, the description of the ruined mansion Porthgenna Tower and the discovery of a document in a room unopened for many years, an excellent piece of writing where Collins really racks up the tension.

There are also a strong set of characters: the tortured Sarah Leeson, her supportive Uncle Joseph who carries a music box with him everywhere, the forceful Rosamond Frankland; even the servants at Porthgenna, Mrs Pentreath and Mr Munder, are strongly individualised.

A rattling good yarn.