The Law and the Lady. A Novel, Band 1

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Harper & Brothers, 1875 - 362 Seiten
Valeria Woodville's first act as a married woman is to sign her name in the marriage register incorrectly, and this slip is followed by the gradual disclosure of a series of secrets about her husband's earlier life, each of which leads on to another set of questions and enigmas. Her discoveries prompt her to defy her husband's authority, to take the law into into a labyrinthine maze of false clues and deceptive identities, in which the exploration of the tangled workings of the mind becomes linked to an investigation into the masquerades of femininity. Probably the first full-length novel with a woman detective as its heroine, The Law and the Lady is a fascinating example of Collins's later fiction. First published in 1875, it employs many of the techniques used in The Moonstone, developing them in bizarre and unexpected ways, and in its Gothic and fantastic elements The Law and the Lady adds a significant dimension to the history of detective fiction.
 

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Seite 256 - set me shaking from the crown of my head to the sole of my foot. I know I ought to have stopped it; but I couldn't stand upon my legs, much less put the man out of the house. In he went, without' with your leave,' or' by your leave,' Mr. Benjamin, sir—in he went, with the Thing in his arms, straight through to your
Seite 253 - hopped, in his horrible way, following the footsteps of the servant disguised in her mistress's clothes. Go where I might, the ghosts of the dead and the absent were with me, step by step. Go where I might, the lonely horror of the house had its still and awful voice for Me:
Seite 228 - present mood. In an instant he was down on the floor, poised on his hands, and looking in the distance like a monstrous frog. Hopping down the room, he overthrew, one after another, all the smaller and lighter chairs as he passed them. Arrived at the end, he turned, surveyed the prostrate chairs,
Seite 359 - no ! between you and me, it was a great deal easier to get the money by marrying the old gentleman. Here I am, provided for—and there's all my family provided for, too—and nothing to do but to spend the money. I am fond of my family; I'ma good daughter and
Seite 150 - all appearance, feeling sensitively the public position in which she was placed. The first portion of her evidence was almost a recapitulation of the evidence given by the prisoner's mother — with this difference, that Mrs. Beauly had been actually questioned by the deceased lady on the subject of cosmetic applications to the complexion. Mrs. Eustace Macallan had complimented her
Seite 112 - to be punished with the pains of the law, to deter others from committing like crimes in all time coming." . So much for the Indictment! I have done with it—and I am rejoiced to be done with it. An Inventory of papers, documents, and articles followed at great length on the next three pages. This, in its turn, was succeeded by the list of the witnesses, and
Seite 182 - Listen as intently as I might, I failed to catch the articulate words (if any) which the voice was pronouncing, and I was equally at a loss to penetrate the cause which produced the rumbling and whistling sounds.
Seite 359 - regret, she was pleased to receive me graciously, as an old friend. While Eustace was talking to the Major, the bride drew me aside out of their hearing, and explained her motives for marrying, with a candor which was positively shameless. " You see we are a large family at home, quite unprovided for!" this odious young woman whispered in my ear.
Seite 65 - bless them all!—the women. I don't regret it. If I had another estate, I have no doubt it would go the same way. Your adorable sex has made its pretty playthings of my life, my time, and my money—and welcome! The one thing I have kept to myself is my honor. And now that is in danger.
Seite 220 - inquired, in tones so low that I could barely hear them. "By the hand of a poisoner," I answered. He made a movement as if he were about to start up in the chair, and sank back again, seized, apparently, with a sudden faintness. " Not my husband !" I hastened to add. " You know that I am satisfied of his innocence." I saw him shudder. I saw his hands fasten

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