No Name

4 1/2 stars, but I rounded up. No Name is the story and portrait of Magdalen Vanstone... or as Wilkie introduces his novel in the preface, "Here is one more book that depicts the struggle of a human creature, under those opposing influences of Good and Evil, which we have all felt, which we have all known." It's a fairly accurate description as throughout the course of the story, we see the evolution of the character of our... Read Full Review

Wilkie Collins, best know for "The Moonstone" (which I have read and loved) and "The Woman in White" (which I have not read yet) is at his best in "No Name". I do not compare it to the "Moonstone" for the "Moonstone" is a great mystery for which the reader must wait to the end for it to be revealed. "No Name" is not a mystery but one great chessmatch, that oddly enough is not played by Magdalen and Noel Vanstone. It is played... Read Full Review

This is the best-plotted book I have ever read. The intricacies of the ingenious cat-and-mouse game kept me unable to put the book down (despite its length, and my general impatience as a slow reader). Unlike other books I've read by Collins, this one is also extremely funny, largely because of one character who is an incredible rascal and scoundrel. This is really one of the most enjoyable novels I've ever found.

It is to Wilkie Collins' credit that more than a century after he wrote his novels, they still engage the reader and make sense in social terms. In "No Name," two sisters by the last name of Vanstone find out that they are illegitimate. Their formerly comfortable lives are disrupted to the core as their lose their places in society, their friends, their inheritances, and even, literally, their names. Collins makes their... Read Full Review

This book is much less known than its famous brothers, "The Woman in White" and "The Moonstone" (I have read them both). It was written between them, and I think it is a very worthy companion to the pair. Mr. Collins was the son of a well-known painter and you perceive his gifted eye for describing characters and environments. He also had a great talent for devising plots and producing very vivid, human and interesting... Read Full Review