I listened to this as a free audio from LibriVox. It's read by volunteers, and I'm sad to say the quality wasn't always good. One of the narrators actually sounded a bit like Janice from Friends ... This is a truly remarkable novel. There were moments when I could see quite clearly where we were going, and yet this didn't detract from the pleasure of reading the novel because I wanted to know how the author would achieve this end. And Wilkie Collins didn't disappoint! It is a novel of a complicated structure, with a whole host of characters; well worth reading for the feel of the 19th century alone. The legal angle only adds to the pleasure.

She then becomes ‘Louisa’, acting as a maid to Admiral Bertram in her quest to locate the Secret Trust. When her efforts are uncovered by his retainer Mazey she is expelled from the estate – at which point she takes up the name of Mrs Gray in her search for employment in London. In 1858 Collins began living with Caroline Graves and her daughter Harriet. Caroline came from a humble family, having married young, had a child, and been widowed. Collins lived close to the small shop kept by Caroline, and the two may have met in the neighbourhood in the mid–1850s. He treated Harriet, whom he called Carrie, as his own daughter, and helped to provide for her education. Excepting one short separation, they lived together for the rest of Collins's life. Collins disliked the institution of marriage, but remained dedicated to Caroline and Harriet, considering them to be his family. [21]Magdalen had been hurt by Frank Clare’s selfish and spiteful letter; she decided to marry Noel Vanstone and thus secure the fortune she believed rightfully hers and her sister’s. Using the money she had earned as an actress, she established Captain Wragge in a cottage near Noel’s house. She herself passed as Miss Bygrave, the captain’s niece.

What we've got here is a very sensationalist novel decrying all the worst aspects of inheritance law and the stigma surrounding bastards. Or bastardettes, as the case may be. These poor girls are cruelly separated from their inheritance, and soon after losing both papa and momma, are beset with poverty as well. Andrew Vanstone is the original source of the problematic sequence of inheritance. He makes a will, leaving his money and estate to his wife and two daughters. But at the time of making the will he is not married to their mother, and his daughters are therefore illegitimate. He marries their mother when his first ‘secret’ wife dies – but that is too little, too late. His will was drawn up before the marriage. His now legitimate wife Mrs Vanstone also dies at the same time as he does. Dopo aver letto “La donna in bianco” ed essere stata piacevolmente colpita, anzi folgorata, dallo stile di Collins, ho deciso di leggere altri suoi romanzi e la mia scelta è caduta su questo titolo altrettanto famoso della sua bibliografia. George Bertram pays court to Norah. Magdalen’s plan is delayed by six weeks because of the death of the legatee in the Secret Trust. stays with Miss Garth, their staunch friend, and becomes a governess. Magdalen, resolved to earn her living on the stage, runs away to York. Here she encounters a disreputable cousin by marriage, Captain Wragge,

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Collins observed the Victorian household very carefully, particularly those two female institutions so prominent in nineteenth century fiction: the housekeeper and the governess. There is no sentimentalizing in the portraits of either Mrs. Le Count or Miss Garth; and Mrs. Wragge, the enormous, slovenly, slow-witted wife of Captain Wragge, provides a portrait of quite a different type of woman. It is also interesting to note that, with the exception of Captain Wragge, most of the men in the novel are either weak or grasping types, and they are far less interesting than the women. The novels Collins published in the 1860s are the best and most enduring of his career. The Woman in White, No Name, Armadale, and The Moonstone, written in less than a decade, show Collins not just as a master of his craft, but as an innovater and provocateur. These four works, which secured him an international reputation, and sold in large numbers, ensured his financial stability, and allowed him to support many others. [14] For the last 20 years of his life Collins divided his time between Caroline, who lived with him at his home in Gloucester Place, and Martha, who was nearby. [6] XC. Penril locates Michael Vanstone, who has inherited all his brother’s wealth and refuses to help Magdalen and Norah. Magdalen plans to challenge him. Miss Garth offers to look after the two sisters in London. Magdalen agrees reluctantly that Frank should be sent to China.

Secret Trust actually in her hands, she is again frustrated — this time by old Mazey. Like Franklin and his party, she Under English law therefore, his entire estate goes to his next of kin – his estranged brother Michael, who heartlessly makes no concessions or recompense towards the two orphaned nieces, Norah and Magdalen, whom he regards as bastard children.

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Hay dos razones por las que 'Sin nombre' no ha terminado de cuajar conmigo, la primera, el empeño detectivesco de Collins que personalmente me abruma. No me gustan las novelas de detectives, y aunque 'Sin nombre' no es una de ellas, está concebida como si lo fuera, con sus personajes planeando intrigas minuciosamente y llenas de detalles que personalmente no podían interesarme menos. Es lo de siempre, el misterio no es lo mio.

Norah is a complete contrast to Magdalene. Her journey through their misfortune is one of patience and endurance. With her goodness and righteous conduct, she wins the battle with dignity. So Norah is a Victorian heroine. Both these characters were likable in their own way, but Magdalen was the better heroine for me despite all her sins. Her character had such colour and vibrancy so that the connection readers feel with her is instantaneous.

Collins has adopted a new style of writing here. He tells his story through a combination of narrative, chronicle, and epistolary writing. This method was very refreshing. It gives the reader a break from the monotony of the narrative. I very much enjoyed this style. the topic and disapproved of the heroine's near-criminal career. H. L. Mansel of The Quarterly Review wrote, 'We have often heard