The Law and the Lady (Penguin Classics)

by William Wilkie Collins
The Law and the Lady (Penguin Classics)  
published 1999 by Penguin Classics
binding Paperback
isbn 0140436073   (isbn13: 9780140436075)
pages 496
description 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 fic...more
date added
01-31-07



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other reviews (showing 1-20 of 89)



George
04/10/07

Read in April, 2007
recommends it for: British mystery readers
Written in 1875, story is about a wife's determination to prove her husband innocent of murdering his first wife. He was tried with the verdict by the Scottish jury being Not Proven leaving him with the stigma of being neither guilty nor innocent.

The novel features a woman as a detective, one of the first to do so, who has to overcome a number of trials and tribulations in her efforts to solve the mystery of how the first wife died. The story moves and reads quickly.
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Chandra
bookshelves: classics, mystery
After reading and loving 'The Moonstone' and 'The Lady in White' I went through a relentless Wilike Collins phase and devoured everything he ever wrote. None of his other books quite measure up to the 2 favorites, but this one comes closer than most. There is something unique about this story of a woman who commits herself to investigating her husband's wrongful imprisonment. Given the constraints of her time this was no small task - very worthy read.
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Aimee
02/15/08

Read in February, 2008
Another fantastic Wilkie Collins book. Characters are very richly painted in this novel and the plot takes the usual Collins twists and turns.

My favorite part of this book is Collins' portrayal of Victorian women - some great insight into the roles of women - and remarkable differences between the various women in the story.
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Ginnyvette
Read in February, 2008
Since it is one of the first detective novels with a female protagonist, I was excited to read it. It dragged some, but the gothic element was really good. And what's the deal with Wilkie Collins' love life???
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katie
katie rated it: 4 of 5 stars4 of 5 stars4 of 5 stars4 of 5 stars4 of 5 stars
12/29/07

bookshelves: done-reading
This is wonderful! Valeria is practically a force of nature, and Miserrimus Dexter, what a character!
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Vanessa
Read in December, 2007
Loved it. Collins is fantastic! This is the fourth I've read by him and I'm hungry for others.
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Margaret
bookshelves: 2008-reads, checked-out
Read in June, 2008
not wilkie's best, but then, wilkie's worst is better than most, so there we are.
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Melika
Melika marked it as to-read (review of isbn 019283679X)
01/25/08

bookshelves: to-read
 

Karen
Karen marked it as to-read (review of isbn 019283679X)
07/04/08

bookshelves: to-read
 

Grace
Grace marked it as to-read (review of isbn 019283679X)
05/23/08

bookshelves: to-read
 

Amanda
04/06/08

bookshelves: fiction
Read in January, 2008
 

Ebookwormy
Ebookwormy marked it as to-read
05/29/08

bookshelves: to-read
 

Kara-Jolie
07/03/08

bookshelves: mystery, to-read
 

Pontalba
Pontalba marked it as to-read
09/16/07

bookshelves: to-read
 

Kate
Kate marked it as to-read (review of isbn 1592244068)
03/28/08

bookshelves: to-read
 

Audrey
Audrey rated it: 3 of 5 stars3 of 5 stars3 of 5 stars3 of 5 stars3 of 5 stars
05/26/07

 


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book data (includes all editions)

avg rating (all editions): 3.81 (54 ratings)
avg rating (this edition): 3.50 (6 ratings)
number of reviews: 7






other editions

The Law and the Lady (Paperback)
The Law and the Lady (Oxford World's Classics)
The Law and the Lady (The World's Classics)