This novella, by Wilkie Collins, was based on his own play of the same name (which both Collins himself, and Charles Dickens, acted in)--probably much like the way novels "based on the film" are done today, and with about as much success. It feels hastily-written, with 2-dimensional characters and a lack of subtlety and nuance. I'll forever be grateful to the play, however, for having inspired the central thrust of Dickens' immortal "A Tale of Two Cities", which is why I just had to read it. :-)