The Law and the Lady

by Wilkie Collins

Book Overview

Probably the first full-length novel with a woman detective as its heroine, The Law and the Lady (1875) is a fascinating example of Collins' later fiction. Valeria Valerie Woodville's first act as a married woman is to sign her name incorrectly in the marriage register; this slip is followed by a gradual disclosure of secrets about her husband's earlier life, each of which leads to another set of questions and enigmas. Developing many of the techniques...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0199538166
• ISBN13: 9780199538164
• Release Date: September 2008
• Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA
• Length: 464 Pages
• Weight: 0.90 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.1" x 5.0" x 7.6"

Customer Reviews

Addictive! Reads like an Agatha Christie novel!

The Moonstone is considered WC's best mystery novel. However, lately I've started reading Wilkie's lesser known works. The Dead Secret was extraordinary, and once again a Collins novel has captured my heart. In The Law and the Lady, newlywed, Valeria Woodville discovers that her husband married her under an assumed name. Neither her husband or his friends or family will speak about the deception bestowed upon the unsuspecting bride. The only thing Valeria's mother-in-law discloses is that she pities Valeria and will speak no more on the subject. Eustace Woodville, actually Eustace Macallen also will not reveal the reason for marrying Valeria under an assumed name. The topic is so painful to him that he abandons his bride rather than reveal the dark secret from his past. He leaves England and begs Valeria to forget him for her own good. Valeria does no such thing! The Law and the Lady is a detective novel, an excellent one, in fact. Valeria takes it upon herself to discover the secret that forced her husband to lie to the woman he so deeply loves and then abandon her rather than reveal the secret from his past. Slight spoiler coming up....Valeria's sleuthing reveal that Eustace Macallen was accused of murdering his first wife. A scottish court gave the verdict "not proven" He was not convicted of the crime, but the jury was unable to find him innocent. Eustace convinced himself that the scottish verdict would forever haunt his second wife, and she would always wonder if he actually did murder his wife. Valeria's belief in her husband's innocence never wavers. She is determined to prove her husband's innocence, even when friends and family advise that not even the best lawyers money can buy could ever change the "not proven" verdict. The Law and the Lady is the perfect novel for those who enjoyed The Moonstone or just enjoy detective novels. If you like this novel, make sure you read The Dead Secret, another excellent WC mystery novel!

Nancy Drew for Grown-Ups

When I was a kid, I was obsessed with Nancy Drew. Not because of the characters or the plots (which even at 9 years old I knew were hackneyed), but because of the stuff -- secret passageways, crumbling old maps, Spanish lace shawls, whispering statues, jewel-encrusted automaton birds, antique lockets with hidden inscriptions . . . This book is the direct ancestor of that genre, although it was ostensibly written for grown-ups, not for kids. Collins seemed to have dreamed up the melodramatic plot and plucky female detective as an excuse to create fantastical settings filled with wondrous objects. It's a Gothic cabinet of curiosities, and utterly delectable. Here's a little sample, taken from a passage in which our heroine is searching an old gentleman's library for clues: "On the upper shelf there appeared, in solitary grandeur, one object only -- a gorgeously-bound book. . . . The binding was of blue velvet, with clasps of silver worked in beautiful arabesque patterns, and with a lock of the same precious metal to protect the book from prying eyes. . . . "Being a woman, . . . I opened the book, without a moment's hesitation. The leaves were of the finest vellum, with tastefully designed illuminations all round them. And what did these highly ornamented pages contain? To my unutterable amazement and disgust, they contained locks of hair, let neatly into the centre of each page -- with inscriptions beneath, which proved them to be love-tokens from various ladies, who had touched the Major's susceptible heart at different periods of his life . . . " Ah, bliss. And truly, this is not even the best of it. There are pages and pages of descriptions of the most outlandish objects, whose presence is the books seems designed merely to delight and entertain. A bit of a warning: If you are looking for literary merit of the sort found in The Moonstone or The Woman in White, you won't find it here. But if you'd like to channel your inner Nancy -- and go back to the days when a mystery novel meant creaky old staircases, dusty old books and delicious hidden treasures -- this is the book for you.

consistently entertaining!

If you are a fan of Collins like I am you will enjoy this book! It has the same flavor as The Woman in White and Moonstone. A great read!

Another Good One for Wilkie

I was not sure how I was going to like this book just finishing the Woman in White a short time ago. I knew going in that this was not one of his more famous works but I bought it since I have read five others written by him and I had so far very much liked all the others (Dead Secret, Haunted Hotel, Woman in White, No Name & The Moonstone). This book did not disappoint me and, in fact, I read it in a mere 4 days. This is a very easy read that keeps the reader guessing on "who done it". The story is about Valeria Woodville (Macallan) who married a man that she finds out married her under an assumed name. She is bound and determined to find out why which she does depite being asked not to by her husband and his best friend. Once she finds out why her husband married her under an assumed name, (hint - he was accused of the murder of his first wife) - she then decides to prove that her husband is innocent. However, the evidence looks pretty damning that her husband actually did murder his first wife. Here is the point where she meets several different people and the puzzle begins to come together. By the end, I had thought of at least 4 different people that I thought had murdered his first wife. I will not give away the end but it is not too surprising. However, this book was an easy read and an enjoyable read. If you like Wilkie's style of writing, you will like this book. This book is certainly not as good as the Woman in White, The Moonstone or No Name, but it is good nonetheless. There are parts of this book that tend to show the prejudice against women during this time. Many times throughout the book, Valeria is asked what can a woman do that the (male) lawyers did not do during the trial. However, Wilkie gives Valeria the love and determination to find out the truth and she does so. The comments about women did not bother me for I knew this book was written in 1870's and the times were different. If you like Wilkie and have read No Name, Moonstone and Woman in White, this is a good easy read by a good author. I look forward to reading more of his works.

Jessica Fletcher meets her match

I really enjoyed this book. It is the predecessor to a lot of the women detective books. Its about a woman who finds out her new husband was once accused of murder. She decides, against a great deal of advice including her husband's, to find evidence of his innocence. On the way, she meets a number of interesting and superbly drawn characters. The book does contain a good deal of Victorian romance and prejudice, however. I found the portrayal of a smart young woman as constantly overcome by her emotions a bit bothersome. Plus, I've never liked love stories and, basically, this is one.