Miss or Mrs?, The Haunted Hotel, The Guilty River (Oxford World's Classics) - Softcover

Collins, Wilkie

3.82

205 ratings by Goodreads

9780199538188: Miss or Mrs?, The Haunted Hotel, The Guilty River (Oxford World's Classics)

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0199538182 ISBN 13: 9780199538188

Publisher: Oxford Paperbacks, 2008

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`..melodrama is perennial and the craving for it is perennial and must be satisfied'

T. S. Eliot ('Wilkie Collins and Dickens')

Collins's ability to construct a gripping situation and to create an atmosphere of mystery and menace is fully evident in the three novellas reprinted here. All proceed through a series of dramatic scenes to a climax that in one case at least is literally explosive. The fast-paced Miss or Mrs? (1871) opens on a yacht, features a remarkably unconventional heroine, and entails murder attempts, blackmail, clandestine marriage and commercial fraud. Dramatic and psychologically absorbing, the action of The Haunted Hotel (1878) takes place in an ancient Venetian palazzo converted into a modern hotel that houses a grisly secreI. Lastly, set in a beautiful water-mill, The Guilty River (1886) depicts a group of alienated characters, whose relationships threaten to erupt in violence and murder. Varied in setting and tone, these stories demonstrate Collins's plot-making skill at its most succinct and intricate.

*Introduction * Textual Note * Bibliography * Chronology * * Explanatory Notes *Appendix: Collins's prefaces
ABOUT THE SERIES: For over 100 years Oxford World's Classics has made available the widest range of literature from around the globe. Each affordable volume reflects Oxford's commitment to scholarship, providing the most accurate text plus a wealth of other valuable features, including expert introductions by leading authorities, helpful notes to clarify the text, up-to-date bibliographies for further study, and much more.

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About the Author:

Norman Page is Emeritus Professor of English at the University of Nottingham. Toru Sasaki is Associate Professor of English at Kyoto University, Japan.

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