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The Dead Secret [Large Print] (Hardcover)

by Wilkie Collins (Author)

3.5 out of 5 stars See all reviews (4 customer reviews)

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Product Details

Hardcover: 576 pages
Publisher: Ulverscroft Large Print; Large Print edition edition (January 2002)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0708993796
ISBN-13: 978-0708993798
Product Dimensions: 23.9 x 15.2 x 3.7 cm
Shipping Weight: 817 g

Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars See all reviews (4 customer reviews)

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Book 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. --This text refers to the Paperback edition.

Ingram

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. Reprinted here in the only critical edition available is the text of the first edition, including Collins's preface and revision . --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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4 Reviews

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Average Customer Review

3.5 out of 5 stars (4 customer reviews)

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3.0 out of 5 stars not bad, but nothing great, Mar 28 2002

By	J. Braun "jb" - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Dead Secret (Paperback)

The story begins with a deathbed scene in which the dying Mrs. Treverton , racked with guilt for some mysterious secret she has been hiding, forces her maid, Sarah, to transcribe her confession and instructs her servant to give it to her husband so he will finally know the truth. Because Sarah is implicated in the secret (although we are not initially told how), she circumvents this final request, too frightened to give her master the letter, but also too frightened to destroy it, and consequently ends up locking it away in a room in a forgotten wing of the mansion. Fifteen years magically elapse, and Sarah assumes that the secret will never be discovered... until, of course, she finds out that Rosamond Treverton (the dying woman's daughter) has recently married and plans to renovate the mansion, including the forgotten wing in which the mysterious letter is hidden. While The Dead Secret is an amusing and fast read, there are some holes in the story (missing details such as the fact that we are never told why Sarah's ominous husband was so awful or what happened to him, and more troubling aspects, such as the characters' reactions to the unraveling of the secret, which, to me, were not nearly as complex or as convincing as they perhaps could have been). I'd recommend this book to someone with a penchant for Wilkie Collins - others would probably be better satisfied reading one of his greater and well-known works, such as The Woman in White.

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3.0 out of 5 stars An early Collins work with a taste of greatness to come, Mar 5 2002

By	Catherine S. Vodrey (East Liverpool, Ohio United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This review is from: The Dead Secret (Paperback)

Wilkie Collins wrote "The Dead Secret" early in his career as a novelist, and his inexperience shows here--but the Collins aficionado will welcome the opportunity to see how his gifts first manifest themselves in this relatively simple story. He gathers together all the usual suspects: a wealthy family, an old house, a charming child, and the member of the house staff who harbors the secret in question. While Collins falls short in his effort to sketch an unrequited yearning (I can't go into more detail if you haven't read the book), he does a beautiful job of portraying the subtle class differences and behaviors in this particular house.

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3.0 out of 5 stars early Collins work shows promise.., Sep 13 2000

By	lazza (Fort Lauderdale, Florida) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Dead Secret (Paperback)

Wilkie Collins has written some brilliant crime/mystery novels during his career, most notably The Woman in White / No Name / The Moonstone. His earlier works are almost unknown nowadays. But such obscurity is unwarrented, at least in the case of The Dead Secret.

The Dead Secret tells a simple story of a mystery surrounding an untold secret of a dying wealthy woman. This woman's secret is shared only with her servant. Despite the woman's dying wish, the servant does not divulge the secret ... with unpleasent results. Eventually the secret is revealed and all is understood.

The novel works well mostly because it is fast paced, and it has all the richness of a Collins novel (ie, it is well-written). No, it isn't as clever or suspenseful as Collins's later works. But Wilkie Collins fans should place The Dead Secret on their 'must read' list.

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5.0 out of 5 stars Charming Predecessor to _The Woman in White_.
This is the last of what critics refer to as Collins's "apprentice novels", meaning that this is the last novel he wrote before he achieved fame with _The Woman in... Read more

Published on Jun 7 2000 by Lauryn Angel-cann