The multiple different narrators thing still appeals to me, but other than that I can take or leave Collins.

The plots of these novels were designed to shock readers – within the limits of what was permissible at the time. Before Wilkie Collins became an enormously successful novelist in the mid-nineteenth century, he studied law with the intent of becoming an attorney. As a result of the antiquated English law, the marriage of their parents did not make the children legitimate and “the sins of the parents was visited upon their children,” they could not inherit. I could probably still have squeezed some enjoyment out of that if only it hadn’t been so unnecessarily long!As I say, it's very much of its time, but it stuck in my craw a little, but of course I am female, so am likely overly inclined to sensitivity. How Magdalen succeeds and fails is the gist of this novel and as always Mr Collins is able to weave out a tale that keeps the reader going through page after page. Captain Wragge arranges Noel and Magdalen's marriage with the understanding that he will receive a payment promised by Magdalen and have no further contact with her afterwards. He attempts to create characters with that kind of caricaturing Dickens does so well, but they come off like pale imitations.

The current Mr and Mrs lived together as husband and wife, finally made legal when the first wife died. I pitied her and feared for her as she was beset by enemies who had their own selfish agenda re the Vanstone fortune and were equally determined to keep her destitute and penniless.

It’s interesting because I’ve usually found that people who like Collins aren’t great enthusiasts for Dickens and vice versa. I thought perhaps the passing of time would have made me able to appreciate him more, especially since so many people hold him in such high regard.

Penril locates Michael Vanstone, who has inherited all his brother’s wealth and refuses to help Magdalen and Norah. Slightly Foxed introduces its readers to books that are no longer new and fashionable but have lasting appeal. She suffers quite enough to satisfy even the most hard hearted of Victorian readers and I was delighted when she achieved happiness almost by accident at the end of the novel.No Name is an example of Collins’ training in estate law and the various intricacies of the rules and loopholes during that period in mid 19th century England. a) upload the demos she has been making of her own songs in her bedroom onto youtube, get discovered, go viral and get to be the Victorian Female Bieber?

But Collins does something of his own that separates him from Dickens for me: he builds a true mystery into his work. The dubious choices she made were certainly a substantial part of what made NO NAME such a scandalous book in its time and, equally certainly, are part of what makes NO NAME an enduring classic that allows readers to judge for themselves the virtues of what she does in the name of justice.Todo el mundo ama esta novela, y es una pena que yo no haya logrado disfrutar de esta historia tanto como esperaba, logró entretenerme, pero creo que no permanezca mucho tiempo en mi memoria.