Description
Discover the enthralling world of Wilkie Collins's 'Armadale,' a classic Victorian sensation novel that promises to captivate and intrigue. Renowned for featuring the wickedly memorable villain Lydia Gwilt, this gripping melodrama explores themes of identity, deception, and the complexities of romantic rivalries. As the elderly Allan Armadale confesses a shocking secret on his deathbed, the stage is set for a weaving narrative filled with espionage, inherited curses, and murder. The rich characterization of Lydia Gwilt—a flame-haired, bigamist and laudanum-addicted femme fatale—has left an indelible mark on literary history, earning Collins praise from critics like T.S. Eliot, who declared this work 'the best of his romances.' This Penguin Classics edition not only brings you the complete text but is meticulously edited with insights and notes by literary expert John Sutherland. Readers will appreciate the context of Collins's work, which draws inspiration from sensational newspaper headlines and the burgeoning technology of his time, such as the penny post and telegraph. Enjoy a captivating reading experience that features 752 pages of rich narrative and thematic depth, alongside further reading materials and historical context. Perfect for fans of classic literature, this trade paperback edition published by Penguin UK is a must-have for anyone intrigued by 19th-century novels. Enjoy fast delivery for your orders!.
Condition: BRAND NEW
ISBN: 9780140434118
Format: Trade paperback (UK)
Year: 1995
Publisher: Penguin UK
Pages: 752
Description:
An innovative novel featuring an astonishingly wicked female villain, Wilkie Collins's Armadale was regarded by T.S. Eliot as 'the best of his romances'. This Penguin Classics edition is edited with an introduction and notes by John Sutherland.
When the elderly Allan Armadale makes a terrible confession on his death-bed, he has little idea of the repercussions to come, for the secret he reveals involves the mysterious Lydia Gwilt- flame-haired temptress, bigamist, laudanum addict and husband-poisoner. Her malicious intrigues fuel the plot of this gripping melodrama- a tale of confused identities, inherited curses, romantic rivalries, espionage, money - and murder. The character of Lydia Gwilt horrified contemporary critics, with one reviewer describing her as 'One of the most hardened female villains whose devices and desires have ever blackened fiction'. She remains among the most enigmatic and fascinating women in nineteenth-century literature and the dark heart of this most sensational of Victorian 'sensation novels'.
John Sutherland's introduction illustrated how Wilkie Collins drew on scandalous newspaper headlines and on new technology particularly the penny post and the telegraph - to lend extra pace and veracity to his tale. This edition also contains notes, further reading and an appendix on stage dramatisations of Armadale.
Wilkie Collins (1824-1889) was born in London in 1824, the eldest son of the landscape painter William Collins. In 1846 he was entered to read for the bar at Lincoln's Inn, where he gained the knowledge that was to give him much of the material for his writing. From the early 1850s
Condition: BRAND NEW
ISBN: 9780140434118
Format: Trade paperback (UK)
Year: 1995
Publisher: Penguin UK
Pages: 752
Description:
An innovative novel featuring an astonishingly wicked female villain, Wilkie Collins's Armadale was regarded by T.S. Eliot as 'the best of his romances'. This Penguin Classics edition is edited with an introduction and notes by John Sutherland.
When the elderly Allan Armadale makes a terrible confession on his death-bed, he has little idea of the repercussions to come, for the secret he reveals involves the mysterious Lydia Gwilt- flame-haired temptress, bigamist, laudanum addict and husband-poisoner. Her malicious intrigues fuel the plot of this gripping melodrama- a tale of confused identities, inherited curses, romantic rivalries, espionage, money - and murder. The character of Lydia Gwilt horrified contemporary critics, with one reviewer describing her as 'One of the most hardened female villains whose devices and desires have ever blackened fiction'. She remains among the most enigmatic and fascinating women in nineteenth-century literature and the dark heart of this most sensational of Victorian 'sensation novels'.
John Sutherland's introduction illustrated how Wilkie Collins drew on scandalous newspaper headlines and on new technology particularly the penny post and the telegraph - to lend extra pace and veracity to his tale. This edition also contains notes, further reading and an appendix on stage dramatisations of Armadale.
Wilkie Collins (1824-1889) was born in London in 1824, the eldest son of the landscape painter William Collins. In 1846 he was entered to read for the bar at Lincoln's Inn, where he gained the knowledge that was to give him much of the material for his writing. From the early 1850s