No Name (novel)
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| No Name | |
| Author | Wilkie Collins |
|---|---|
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Language | English |
| Genre(s) | mystery novel, sensation novel |
| Publisher | Sampson Low, Son, and Marston |
| Publication date | 1862 |
| Media type | Print (Hardback & Paperback) |
| Preceded by | The Woman in White |
| Followed by | Armadale |
No Name (1862) by Wilkie Collins is a 19th-century novel revolving upon the issue of illegitimacy. It was originally serialized in Charles Dickens's magazine All the Year Round before book publication.
Contents |
[edit] Plot summary
The story begins in 1846, at Combe-Raven in West Somersetshire, the country residence of the happy Vanstone family. When Andrew Vanstone is killed suddenly in an accident and his wife follows shortly thereafter, it is revealed that they were not married at the time of their daughters' births, making their daughters "Nobody's Children" in the eyes of English law and robbing them of their inheritance. Andrew Vanstone's elder brother Michael gleefully takes possession of his brother's fortune, leaving his nieces to make their own way in the world. Norah, the elder sister, accepts her misfortune gracefully, but the headstrong Magdalen is determined to have her revenge. Using her dramatic talent and assisted by wily swindler Captain Wragge, Magdalen plots to regain her rightful inheritance.
When the elderly Michael Vanstone dies before her plan can be put into effect, Magdalen turns her efforts towards Michael Vanstone's equally morally corrupt offspring, Noel Vanstone. Magdalen and Captain Wragge follow Noel Vanstone to the seaside town of Aldborough, where, under assumed names, they scheme to make Noel Vanstone fall in love with Magdalen. Their efforts are complicated by Noel Vanstone's shrewd and jealously possessive housekeeper, Mrs. Lecount, who suspects Magdalen's true identity, and by Magdalen's growing horror of the thought of marrying Noel Vanstone.
[edit] Characters
[edit] Major characters
- Magdalen Vanstone – the heroine; a headstrong young woman with dramatic talent who is determined to regain her family's lost inheritance; aged 18 at the opening of the novel
- Norah Vanstone – Magdalen's sister
- Captain Horatio Wragge – an audacious, self-proclaimed swindler
- Noel Vanstone – a distant relation of Magdalen and Norah, son of Michael Vanstone
- Mrs Lecount – Noel Vanstone's Housekeeper
[edit] Minor characters
Many minor characters advance the plot, add complexity, or comic relief. They include:
- Miss Garth – governess to the Vanstone sisters
- Francis Clare, Sr. – cynical neighbor of the Vanstone family
- Francis (Frank) Clare, Jr. – beloved of Magdalen Vanstone
- Mr Pendril – lawyer to the Andrew Vanstone family
- Michael Vanstone – the Vanstone sisters' vindictive uncle, father of Noel Vanstone
- Matilda Wragge – wife to Captain Horatio Wragge; a giantess with the mind of a child
- Robert Kirke – a captain in the merchant service who falls in love with Magdalen
- Sophie – Magdalen's lady's maid
[edit] External links
- No Name, available at Project Gutenberg.
