Everand Logo

Welcome to Everand!

  • Discover millions of ebooks, audiobooks, and so much more with a free trial

    Only $11.99/month after trial. Cancel anytime.

    Jezebel's Daughter
    Jezebel's Daughter
    Jezebel's Daughter
    Ebook455 pages6 hours

    Jezebel's Daughter

    By Wilkie Collins

    4/5

    ()

    Switch to audiobook
    Read preview
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherArchive Classics
    Release dateJan 1, 1999
    Author

    Wilkie Collins

    William Wilkie Collins (1824–1889) was an English novelist, playwright, and author of short stories. He wrote 30 novels, more than 60 short stories, 14 plays, and more than 100 essays. His best-known works are The Woman in White and The Moonstone.

    Read more from Wilkie Collins

    Related to Jezebel's Daughter

    Related ebooks

    Related podcast episodes

    Related articles

    • Article

      The Stupid Classics Book Club

      Apr 23, 2019

      The Stupid Classics Book Club
      11 min read

    • Article

      ‘I’m Not Worried About Fame Or Glory’: Lydia Davis, The Author Who Has Refused To Sell Her Book On Amazon

      Sep 30, 2023

      Lydia Davis is a miniaturist with sizable intentions. Her micro-stories, many just a couple of lines, are constrained in length only; their subject matter might be anything that takes her interest, whether a builder up his ladder, a moment of marital

      5 min read

    • Article

      Shelf Life

      Sep 2, 2021

      Shelf Life
      4 min read

    • Article

      Secret Sex Lives In Victorian England

      Jan 26, 2023

      NEW YEAR, NEW LIFE. As we march under cover of bravado into 2023, the first piece of good news is an impressive debut novel whose achievement largely matches its ambition. The New Life by Tom Crewe, an editor at the London Review of Books, is a story

      6 min read

    • Article

      Past In To Present

      Aug 3, 2023

      Past In To Present
      6 min read

    • Article

      Fantasy and Reality

      Aug 3, 2017

      Fantasy and Reality
      4 min read

    • Article

      Foul Matter

      Oct 4, 2017

      Foul Matter
      5 min read

    • Article

      ‘Each Envelope Was A Treasure’: How I Became Le Carré’s Friend And Reader

      Oct 8, 2022

      I’d seen the man on several occasions, seated in a corner of my local pub. I was clueless as to who he was. Then, in the aftermath of the Iraq war, I went to the Wells Tavern [in Hampstead] with a journalist, who knew the white-haired, conservatively

      3 min read

    • Article

      Books

      Aug 1, 2022

      Books
      6 min read

    • Article

      Liminal Spaces

      Nov 2, 2020

      Liminal Spaces
      11 min read

    • Article

      Shelf Life

      May 5, 2022

      Shelf Life
      5 min read

    • Article

      “We All Have An Expiration Date”: The Death of a Prison Writer

      May 2, 2020

      Among the many incarcerated who have died from COVID-19 was Marshall Project contributor Timothy Bazrowx, one of Texas’s best chroniclers of prison life.

      7 min read

    • Article

      A Year in Reading: Iľja Rákoš

      Dec 12, 2021

      As long as there are authors, translators, publishers large or small committed to the deliberate word deliberately committed to the page, and so many who still need those words on pages, legal or illegal, right, left, or center, we’ll find our feet a

      8 min read

    • Article

      A Society Affair

      May 6, 2021

      ‘My working life had always been in “personnel” but joining the Society of Women Writers and Journalists (SWWJ) in 1986 as a Probationer member was the beginning of my writing career,’ says subscriber Pamela Birley, who writes as Bradley Bernarde. ‘I

      3 min read

    • Article

      A Year in Reading: Il’ja Rákoš

      Dec 14, 2019

      I, like you, definitely don’t need to be made more susceptible to the predations of the truly sinister agents of corruption that are at work all around us. The post A Year in Reading: Il’ja Rákoš appeared first on The Millions.

      5 min read

    • Article

      A Letter from New York

      Dec 10, 2019

      A Letter from New York
      10 min read

    Reviews for Jezebel's Daughter

    4/5

    4 ratings4 reviews

    What did you think?

    Tap to rate

    Review must be at least 10 words

    • 5/5
      I simply love Wilkie Collins style of writing and have indeed read most of his works with great pleasure. I have not come across this particular story before however. It is a tale of Madame Fontaine and her innocent daughter Minna. The mother is a strong minded woman who is ambitious for her daughter and will stop at nothing to place her in a safe and settled position in life. To this end she will lie and steal,indeed she is prepared to commit murder to achieve her ambitions.Quite simply ,brilliant.
    • 3/5
      Jezebel's Daughter, published in 1880, is a Victorian thriller from that master of the genre, Wilkie Collins. In this story, plot is a much stronger driving force than the big idea that generally dominates Collins' books. The overarching theme in this tale is the psychology of an evil woman and a study of the forces (maternal instincts, in this case) that both cause and check her wickedness. Can Jezebel's daughter redeem Jezebel... or is she the reason for her mother's evil?There isn't much to spoiler; the title pretty much tells you who the villain is. Two men — one a brilliant chemist, the other a shrewd businessman — die on the same day, leaving their wives a mixed legacy. Madame Fontaine, the widow of the chemist, is left with the poisons he was researching (wow, I wonder what she's going to do with those!), while Mrs. Wagner is left with her husband's mental health institution reforms and his plans for hiring women along with men in his firm's offices. The story is narrated by Mrs. Wagner's nephew David Glenney, and supplemented with extracts from the letters and diaries of various characters. Collins does love his different narrative voices, doesn't he?Considering the predominance of plot over idea in Jezebel's Daughter, one would think that the characters would have a much stronger presence as unique individuals than do Collins' characters in his more theme-driven works. But this is not the case. Oh, there are certainly some fun characters here: Jack Straw is a fascinating portrait of mental instability, with his funny ways and insuperable vanity. But besides him, everyone else is pretty much standard fare: the young, idealistic lovers, the suspicious (but sometimes oh so daft!) narrator, the evil, charming female schemer, the stern man of business, the erudite, naive chemist, etc. These are all types that Collins does very well, but they do suffer somewhat from being done so very often.As always in Collins' books, the reader is treated to slices of Victorian life mixed with a heavy dose of melodrama — even a resurrection from the dead! You really have to love the stageyness of it all to survive and thrive whilst reading a Wilkie Collins novel. Fortunately I do love it, all that glorious, messy, over-the-top culmination of human emotions brought about by a highly coincidental set of circumstances. It's just fun. But I can see many readers losing patience with the elaborate set-up all leading to a most predictable shock.It is generally accepted that Collins' later works are weaker than his earlier successes on almost every level, and Jezebel's Daughter, though by no means dreadful, is no exception. It's really more of a middling title amidst his repertoire. Still, for sheer entertainment value, Collins is one of my favorite authors. Readers interested in Victorian methods of dealing with the insane, steps toward labor equality, and the age-old fascination with the Jezebel villainess will find much to enjoy here.
    • 4/5
      Ah, the innocent love between man and maiden. What matters it that the man’s father is rich and above reproach, and the maiden’s mother is a poor widow and suspected of evil doings. Who among us knows the capacity for wickedness that lies dormant in our natures, until the fatal event comes and calls it forth.This was my first Wilkie Collins, and I thoroughly enjoyed his story and his characters. Although you know “whodunit” from the title, and from the early pages, you know the “how”, the story runs its course and takes you along for a ride in an 1880s suspense novel.
    • 3/5
      Jezebel's Daughter, published in 1880, is a Victorian thriller from that master of the genre, Wilkie Collins. In this story, plot is a much stronger driving force than the big idea that generally dominates Collins' books. The overarching theme in this tale is the psychology of an evil woman and a study of the forces (maternal instincts, in this case) that both cause and check her wickedness. Can Jezebel's daughter redeem Jezebel... or is she the reason for her mother's evil?There isn't much to spoiler; the title pretty much tells you who the villain is. Two men — one a brilliant chemist, the other a shrewd businessman — die on the same day, leaving their wives a mixed legacy. Madame Fontaine, the widow of the chemist, is left with the poisons he was researching (wow, I wonder what she's going to do with those!), while Mrs. Wagner is left with her husband's mental health institution reforms and his plans for hiring women along with men in his firm's offices. The story is narrated by Mrs. Wagner's nephew David Glenney, and supplemented with extracts from the letters and diaries of various characters. Collins does love his different narrative voices, doesn't he?Considering the predominance of plot over idea in Jezebel's Daughter, one would think that the characters would have a much stronger presence as unique individuals than do Collins' characters in his more theme-driven works. But this is not the case. Oh, there are certainly some fun characters here: Jack Straw is a fascinating portrait of mental instability, with his funny ways and insuperable vanity. But besides him, everyone else is pretty much standard fare: the young, idealistic lovers, the suspicious (but sometimes oh so daft!) narrator, the evil, charming female schemer, the stern man of business, the erudite, naive chemist, etc. These are all types that Collins does very well, but they do suffer somewhat from being done so very often.As always in Collins' books, the reader is treated to slices of Victorian life mixed with a heavy dose of melodrama — even a resurrection from the dead! You really have to love the stageyness of it all to survive and thrive whilst reading a Wilkie Collins novel. Fortunately I do love it, all that glorious, messy, over-the-top culmination of human emotions brought about by a highly coincidental set of circumstances. It's just fun. But I can see many readers losing patience with the elaborate set-up all leading to a most predictable shock.It is generally accepted that Collins' later works are weaker than his earlier successes on almost every level, and Jezebel's Daughter, though by no means dreadful, is no exception. It's really more of a middling title amidst his repertoire. Still, for sheer entertainment value, Collins is one of my favorite authors. Readers interested in Victorian methods of dealing with the insane, steps toward labor equality, and the age-old fascination with the Jezebel villainess will find much to enjoy here.

    Book preview

    Jezebel's Daughter - Wilkie Collins

    @{1^book_preview_excerpt.html}ےG寤z(=H#DҐ",5wm P^ # Kbg[E /qp?~g7Xr,~خc-~ۢ?:6e1b}*>m]P[ǦO'Ե9b?Ƣ튲F|VzܥfϏu˱.CbQ}8éU"(>>VIi|p2-UzF8SKT6=⢍c^zlcrw]nkS.}U?ߋi߾tĀ?v I7|.|tpɄ)寺_%P]r9m'/|QjM= X||SyuxW/n~凫?A޾qG}JlD簏C~n/W7o^r.UN vg<92յgoaX^|5|ry)"AXm-ƞ{z #j"0Ӷ?wnZ ]? :;)`&6O۳F\N18~À cן]8eݗ~C[bTe׶8.,vtXuSm/w$@}´8zbLHpӪ5*1?=wI֠1.;̍#X'S 㜴%EU1bypS_<8!Ǻip8Ġ峷x3T FCM(/Y5mqqrM#wC${"Vʛy/nj!"bM>r4h]l5KԴIsmF5J6oD$_14uh!JR0C3;/[k^9te8c畻T\uuUQjLkX}pw,apVJMxP=*[wZȥ JFލ,4C[Q*H >g׵ܛN/S_k-lΖtpr4G 4 s;>X=pW7<ԎPMEHv~21.)&L1S&^$@cXaʲ+k0@9pYlK+Ss'Zh;q'?VY"i{хqm><ݮ1өUeL ;b4kSUVFE:׭| f|8XO Jۼ ]a>LK&Ji(aᱎ +6#p! Ƃk}ƎCOCEQyii;Do ݞNSŲ˪ȑAh V݆o_0΁}I!Č%Fp'Jɜ)ut v'$f[ڄ-^ r-EGW8f)۶+\h*21|<8V75UuPV,8R d֗-Ƃ!KkϺ5{+7C?nV..߇*4q7a˯Zc֩Ot"V!oR}2 =mt쀟*[e Sŏ2`>lRPOW +=LKAwE(Mp {̹\:`M| Bc'L/OFq7Aq#wx7+YJNmh3uL?XAcqĄ`q T= j,*S  V+(L6 !Nk+)PX9i]YN}IBM(.P+Wo x<606oWJz-dwAp>J4st9mO<p \Il.< <3K[7BV"=p,]t=iLk&m9qYWl=640 ]C[3z h(@k}uh /jkR^;p)ȧp[uĹ,^m%DPPC>rju Y.h.H 8jBo<Gb Atmm &o܅R=)F9q^ك}(DfH+8|#@?`Dَ%iPvC=*alp' ;|OM4c;59`AI)X{ i]וO~O=%op q%[ԾY ?&6F>#Zt[vhk{öO v)Nώ&"}%EgE"㧦JBx"װJ]}ffs3H\x~ǫ_WWϾt=>7^~w_xEo/^_ߋokЛ7oe/47ˋW\Ns &F!H4DN\xrduS26ub?x0k/mtz(tg`ؚ2 BȂӦ AOK"kpfA5oFF6\qvq!؃nha$KpK]0N[3@7O$ T r(uZĩٓP =S~4'wQ}4.u ~0rLWg/ @>9Tzhc]pk p|@S^VA*GqU_M(`c/ Ec:|#a2t5pUd%L/mdZp%X$ȕIjc:)@1^t5[3cNd8כɤܜѳ0rOhI Yg[vɫlVHE5>v_1n4ΩROLhHhd|| )~y*e_3(o.~75!lg,1eݢX %RNqY hk2E3 :%pdoP)>;m$߼dIX~;;Ea5(dN@Cb-kN*P'z˫zG<=pq6y20' ə3@- t|م"_\?LfM0q;3pH1QNCu1zF|83hʾ>KЖRPJEӗHNO5g q@8|S" 4+"(9x/G1hp'"K:*>G`a΂&mJ=&֞zGara e'cDf3B̬J FqhQ>B<@ti`$Y@sʃwPpٝ+П2 ަ/Bh.ei;:ZLNRH`[\8e cne0 vS)cQMCuGE.aehi9JoLQp94H Sm?xL깳dkIi+1ESfBzbHz3. dR˙BѬ[Y0̝$HYE.myy^$ڮO$/ڲ>4oѳۜ^;导#&t*@hȚH 4I:.WeHfX^+E۔7bQ s9°' s!j8dj@q#mAt -KJ:LIՙFȩBRܟr FM;|&E}_#|АSٜ"rWWt ;\Ʉkf8lK#b+!pi/I)Q:B+rie)) Ld⛅ "TGVF)j0lg~y RQztRMN^yW NmhA8IPFHrKVwQW!*֨lBR3i|p>E&?arFhJȣשȃ&9H9_`5WOѐS'Z*ƘH^ɨqάn'R*5j9 pU.y 'ZpN~Q2?ǺX` ! Hf \n%dG6Yr](_yrJk5Mi=bn(e8C"w>ZKcg%f4vޕ(-$q0 Ւ:`Cw;f0f/v<^];:p2Xg@*;ARL"JD3@P3_79 %˓>DXT z}݋BK-O&\e:y5yީhQޘU[Քr'L&Xhw`Ɯؖ9 Cr3/ZXo5[{& GTO,"zZnT27s0CY$h倄$eXJKV.JVȅl\Cڹ~Q]3(d?Ctd"f\O@4קȌ"s1?iLShq s,H*kW0"Bۧ6 0^mڻR{FXܫ)j\G-2+{;QD 'Ϋj0&cEd3_o Z#+YĮ2tvHM>$!A\_[(E^ g r#xG*`ﶲ8q_lllAx<OêxQ T_(ŕ)z:sǙ M)Dgũ5`_:CM<:w= (97y^CRbgX ~ҝKoDj% &=?QჃ)K"KrY2M {%b=gR,1sRB$Gb8iտ o<$[?z Q4~=tG.pʖ aDSu.mIfӬeedqQ?5i_:FJBs&3=IThS3-BPr1B6u#ºb~׏iD1d gn>gBT]Td['s&&':ʿcכXX0\Y֖`fWN,C'-"t漏^ôeLҔ1έShu mH#V]m(Q}?L,(L)Md"5|&>KTb?X'u* Pd9gK/=zdy1w4rIF*~z6ayѻwTX[?_T)2VV`>[ (^Ө+J\Csx'Ong}碱d.LKbf[m732;o ǙaadKiMGHנ7D p0tj:m^=fqCɻ(_[:h;yO9}1/XX`9ᮓs'$9oDҖ<),3h'qJ ʨ/XZUw)iRygfU@*C|&[YhĖ֋uR'w2} 3҈YVhp$m7onH7t`S*R+U0mZ?pF؉iRcC2ŷU{ ,)UCΥAl)j&at沪71uEk^`]}O!Ja5t#;F&zg:V$.Rv0WɍM5jEi㴟+:"e35Z7Ԅ4F: ύ Q6 ^yeꑞu^2z|Ip.(S ݢ) p)n,$+Ip>-hKj]ao!;d`N!g.̣VAH/4f*Q -3Tn9 2MNzJE%]#.g;Z{s2^3\n 7`yC!lÙ}>p^9[R%Bˬv)aj!{L-_$] 1!TR89ղx-R'毩S=DbU.12Hg{*HtRLI;|m^|ˣxLNi֓|I^tSr%ݚM]!~^ܐ`}-e>azy=AwY<1Wb9'[k//θOsC5PE.*o.;gmY<|8Rɤ\rfF1,n "L*OUl\!aq)鴳l^ھiRC v] fP.,{#̔mET07 537X7Ӑ#9/X"9erBaoLΌ27aدLQ*KV萝ZEM\ Ʊ.E!r/R.>Zj<qpӸ_gw$#)v%+R/sCgQEWVU# 5EU]ӥ=TIJB%<"/tDҜx ̩͘D嶎l)g1lZ{Ÿa;|\*U+.lUS!i._Q!]-i1\sȥlIJnXufc`nW*t8'4);mvB{C`B+h4' 9iXV`<5013:uO }ԘTlj߇^W?)W~KS g1eOQw|7z:N&s;s+linjzW&BJ{2fC=\(WBL~=l˟^U2'ե5Kw,_$}6ckh/G |KrMx/%]jRW*0@u+3Q ='~>B`-?w&HfR2y#eC:Az/4{Y)wSMl9]{Y!:@Fpmysգi ?W̳!+S 9 ݕ_Du7gna@an1) ;EQG% T_Oz[oǍrժ, jc=}#=\JiƝIj9dě\;PMN#YOKщle?`>m됩P1pJOt߾pGzW]褄]əTI_XI`<\ /"V]ݿxۢ='_`D'džO0-|`pA.t~҃*Um\\jLB" ("V0_|3<n1i\p> ,D 4uݛȄ(qM|*}8ތBJ]R##${&9E1֚ 6J_T[iV$.EʪhI$E ѯUxϺChkS :Cv)]"R[c"j[u/o^+0}~) 0L3 %0qF?:/R1Ֆx}}o)iN*/NU'Hԏv?Z]K ex!Q"gN$2w>:6º.9dì[ѠCan(~!{8Qʷ_{$.x{/H;hR9jA2DyԦQ^_1j?9lLaҧLxL1TdLz$*[gyιQ O-%vs7$7&&S{^Z.Sko#ٿ^.ڜ`rI>OqC2 
    Enjoying the preview?
    Page 1 of 1