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weaselweader's review against another edition
5.0
"Mr Vanstone's daughters are Nobody's Children ... and the law leaves them helpless at their uncle's mercy!"
When Mr and Mrs Vanstone are killed in an accident, an understandable oversight and the misogynistic vagaries of Victorian law have left their daughters, Magdalen and Norah, orphaned and penniless. The Vanstone estate passes in its entirety to their embittered uncle who refuses to recognize the justice of their claim against his brother's wealth. A sanguine, disappointed and much more conventional Norah resigns herself to her fate and takes up a position as governess to support herself. But a furious and defiant Magdalen refuses to accept the loss of what she knows is rightfully hers and her sisters. With the help of an unscrupulous con artist, Captain Horatio Wragge, Magdalen embarks on a labyrinthine Machiavellian scheme to steal back her birthright.
In his own preface to NO NAME, Wilkie Collins acknowledged that while he wanted to use the success he had achieved with his first ground-breaking "sensation novel", THE WOMAN IN WHITE, he also wanted to push his story-telling into new divergent directions. Far from being a purely gothic or atmospheric mystery, NO NAME is astonishingly realistic and down to earth. Norah's and Magdalen's illegitimacy in law and their loss of social status and inheritance rights are all entirely believable. Beginning a theme which he returned to later in MAN AND WIFE, Collins used his writing as a platform to examine the legal, moral and social issues of Victorian law as it related to marriage and the status of women. And he certainly didn't hesitate to use that platform to express his deep dismay over the inequities that he perceived in those laws.
Interestingly, while Magdalen's quest to recover her fortune by any means available was quite understandable and, even to the most establishment bound Victorian reader, somewhat justifiable, she is not a particularly likable heroine. The dubious choices she made were certainly a substantial part of what made NO NAME such a scandalous book in its time and, equally certainly, are part of what makes NO NAME an enduring classic that allows readers to judge for themselves the virtues of what she does in the name of justice.
Highly recommended.
Paul Weiss
When Mr and Mrs Vanstone are killed in an accident, an understandable oversight and the misogynistic vagaries of Victorian law have left their daughters, Magdalen and Norah, orphaned and penniless. The Vanstone estate passes in its entirety to their embittered uncle who refuses to recognize the justice of their claim against his brother's wealth. A sanguine, disappointed and much more conventional Norah resigns herself to her fate and takes up a position as governess to support herself. But a furious and defiant Magdalen refuses to accept the loss of what she knows is rightfully hers and her sisters. With the help of an unscrupulous con artist, Captain Horatio Wragge, Magdalen embarks on a labyrinthine Machiavellian scheme to steal back her birthright.
In his own preface to NO NAME, Wilkie Collins acknowledged that while he wanted to use the success he had achieved with his first ground-breaking "sensation novel", THE WOMAN IN WHITE, he also wanted to push his story-telling into new divergent directions. Far from being a purely gothic or atmospheric mystery, NO NAME is astonishingly realistic and down to earth. Norah's and Magdalen's illegitimacy in law and their loss of social status and inheritance rights are all entirely believable. Beginning a theme which he returned to later in MAN AND WIFE, Collins used his writing as a platform to examine the legal, moral and social issues of Victorian law as it related to marriage and the status of women. And he certainly didn't hesitate to use that platform to express his deep dismay over the inequities that he perceived in those laws.
Interestingly, while Magdalen's quest to recover her fortune by any means available was quite understandable and, even to the most establishment bound Victorian reader, somewhat justifiable, she is not a particularly likable heroine. The dubious choices she made were certainly a substantial part of what made NO NAME such a scandalous book in its time and, equally certainly, are part of what makes NO NAME an enduring classic that allows readers to judge for themselves the virtues of what she does in the name of justice.
Highly recommended.
Paul Weiss
mokey81's review against another edition
3.0
The overall plot of this book was really good. I enjoyed watching Magdalene fighting against the hand she was dealt. But, admittedly, a lot of it dragged. The writing could have been chopped a bit, and the book still would have been great. But it was enjoyable.
milesjmoran's review against another edition
5.0
I first read The Woman in White in 2014 and thoroughly enjoyed it. I don't know why it took me this long to pick up another Wilkie Collins novel as I really loved this book and am now determined to read the rest of his works. No Name is a classic Victorian Sensationalist novel (which is definitely my comfort genre), brimming with twists and turns, stuffed with eccentric characters, and the promise of deceit, disguise, societal commentary, and, of course, a dose of death. There were only a few instances in this 700+ page book that I felt dragged but other than that it was a brilliant read that I struggled to put down, and I highly recommend it to those who have enjoyed Collins' other works previously as well as those who don't know where to start with him.
we_are_all_mad_here26's review against another edition
4.0
So what if he uses a billion words to get to the point? I have yet to read anything by Mr Wilkie Collins that I did not love, [b:The Moonstone|6138|The Moonstone|Wilkie Collins|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1403192382l/6138._SY75_.jpg|1044477] being my favorite. There's drama, there's suspense, there are gigantic obstacles thrown into the heroine's path, there are characters that could leap off the page, sit next to me in my living room and ask what I'm reading.
Highly recommend to anyone who wonders what the suspense genre was like back in Victorian times.
Highly recommend to anyone who wonders what the suspense genre was like back in Victorian times.
beccakatie's review against another edition
5.0
I absolutely adored reading this book, I loved the plot and the characters. The plot was complex, with twists that took me by surprise, and moments which came back to be important later.
I particularly liked his scene breaks used letters to speed the plot along, as well as give the reader insight into the other characters lives and thought processes, it added a very interesting perspective.
Magdalen’s story is heart-wrenching, and the reader cannot help but be swept up in sympathy and sorry for her plight. Her emotional struggles are so well written they move the reader, and the conclusion to the story was lovely and tied everything together perfectly without seeming too tidy.
To see Magdalen’s personal growth was really interesting, and to see the sisters reunited after spending the whole book apart while the reader still learns about their love for each other worked well.
The way the less savoury characters were written worked well too, particulate Captain Wragge and Noel Vanstone. Their motivations made them quite unappealing characters, with Wragge redeemed somewhat by his relationship with Magdalen and the general unpleasantness of Noel helping the reader to support Magdalen in her attempts to take back her money from him.
I particularly liked his scene breaks used letters to speed the plot along, as well as give the reader insight into the other characters lives and thought processes, it added a very interesting perspective.
Magdalen’s story is heart-wrenching, and the reader cannot help but be swept up in sympathy and sorry for her plight. Her emotional struggles are so well written they move the reader, and the conclusion to the story was lovely and tied everything together perfectly without seeming too tidy.
To see Magdalen’s personal growth was really interesting, and to see the sisters reunited after spending the whole book apart while the reader still learns about their love for each other worked well.
The way the less savoury characters were written worked well too, particulate Captain Wragge and Noel Vanstone. Their motivations made them quite unappealing characters, with Wragge redeemed somewhat by his relationship with Magdalen and the general unpleasantness of Noel helping the reader to support Magdalen in her attempts to take back her money from him.
fictionfan's review against another edition
2.0
Money, money, money...
When Magdalen and Norah Vanstone are left orphaned by the sudden and unexpected deaths of their parents, they are further shocked to discover that their parents had not been married when the girls were born. Not only does this make the sisters illegitimate – a shameful thing in itself – but due to a quirk of the law it also prevents them from inheriting their father’s wealth. The money goes to their father’s estranged brother, Michael Vanstone, who resolutely refuses to help them. Norah accepts this but the fiery Magdalen cannot. She decides she will regain their lost inheritance, whatever the cost...
It’s many years since I read Collins’ two most famous books, The Moonstone and The Woman in White, neither of which became a favourite. I thought perhaps the passing of time would have made me able to appreciate him more, especially since so many people hold him in such high regard. I’m afraid I found this book tedious, filled with unlikeable characters about whom I cared not a jot.
As always, I came away with the impression that Collins was trying to ‘do a Dickens’ and was failing pretty dramatically. He suggests the book is going to address a social injustice, as Dickens does so well, but in reality his treatment of the stigma of illegitimacy is superficial. He attempts to create characters with that kind of caricaturing Dickens does so well, but they come off like pale imitations. We have the swindler, Captain Wragge, who helps Magdalen with her revenge scheme. He’s given little quirks like recording all his swindles as carefully as if they were legitimate business deals, or having certain mannerisms in the way he talks. But he doesn’t have either the humour of Dickens’ minor characters nor the truly sinister feeling of Dickens’ villains. His wife is a simple-minded giantess, whom he treats despicably. In a Dickens story, she would either be tragic or comic. Here, she’s merely a plot vehicle – pitiable but irritating when she’s on the page, and forgotten when she’s not required.
Admittedly Magdalen is a more rounded character than some of Dickens’ many insipid young girls. Unfortunately, she’s such an unpleasant little money-grubber I found it impossible to get up any liking or concern for her. Yes, it must be sad not to be rich if you thought you would be, but frankly she’s hardly poor either in comparison to the true poverty of so many at that time. Norah is considerably more likeable – she decides to earn her living and gets on with it. She and Miss Garth, the girls’ old governess, were the only two characters I cared about at all, and unfortunately Collins dumps them a third of the way through and from then on we only hear little snippets about how they’re getting on, while we spend far too much time with whining Magdalen, the Wragges and the Vanstone household. The problem for me was that the villains were no more despicable than the ostensible heroine of the novel.
But OK, so he’s no Dickens, and his characters’ sole obsession is with acquiring and hoarding money. I could probably still have squeezed some enjoyment out of that if only it hadn’t been so unnecessarily long! I hear you, Collins’ fans – no, it’s not as long as some of Dickens’ books, but Dickens would have had a cast of thousands, each described to unique perfection, with a dozen sub-plots all being juggled masterfully. Here we have one dull plot - “Give me back my money!” - and a handful of unattractive characters, and it’s dragged out for over 700 tortuous pages! Do we all know how it will end? I think we have a fair idea! It’s a Victorian novel after all and there are conventions. So the journey matters since the end is barely in doubt. And this journey is like being on a train for twenty hours with the blinds drawn, and nothing good to read...
Oh dear! I was going to try to make this sound more balanced but sometimes reviews take on their own momentum. There is an interesting introduction in my Oxford World’s Classic edition, by Virginia Blain, Associate Professor in English at Macquarie University in Sydney. Unsurprisingly, she’s considerably more enthusiastic about the book than I, and I enjoyed reading (and disagreeing with) her opinion!
I’m sure fans of Collins’ style will enjoy the book. But for those of us who prefer the flamboyance and genius of a Dickens, then I fear this will taste as thin and unappetising as a plate of Scrooge’s gruel...
* * * * *
PS You may be wondering why I seem to be obsessed with comparing the book to Dickens. This is because I added the book to my TBR, years ago, as a result of a long-running, (relatively) amicable argument I had with two Collins’ fans over which was the better writer. I hereby declare that Dickens and I win! 😉
NB This book was provided for review by the publisher, Oxford World’s Classics.
www.fictionfanblog.wordpress.com
When Magdalen and Norah Vanstone are left orphaned by the sudden and unexpected deaths of their parents, they are further shocked to discover that their parents had not been married when the girls were born. Not only does this make the sisters illegitimate – a shameful thing in itself – but due to a quirk of the law it also prevents them from inheriting their father’s wealth. The money goes to their father’s estranged brother, Michael Vanstone, who resolutely refuses to help them. Norah accepts this but the fiery Magdalen cannot. She decides she will regain their lost inheritance, whatever the cost...
It’s many years since I read Collins’ two most famous books, The Moonstone and The Woman in White, neither of which became a favourite. I thought perhaps the passing of time would have made me able to appreciate him more, especially since so many people hold him in such high regard. I’m afraid I found this book tedious, filled with unlikeable characters about whom I cared not a jot.
As always, I came away with the impression that Collins was trying to ‘do a Dickens’ and was failing pretty dramatically. He suggests the book is going to address a social injustice, as Dickens does so well, but in reality his treatment of the stigma of illegitimacy is superficial. He attempts to create characters with that kind of caricaturing Dickens does so well, but they come off like pale imitations. We have the swindler, Captain Wragge, who helps Magdalen with her revenge scheme. He’s given little quirks like recording all his swindles as carefully as if they were legitimate business deals, or having certain mannerisms in the way he talks. But he doesn’t have either the humour of Dickens’ minor characters nor the truly sinister feeling of Dickens’ villains. His wife is a simple-minded giantess, whom he treats despicably. In a Dickens story, she would either be tragic or comic. Here, she’s merely a plot vehicle – pitiable but irritating when she’s on the page, and forgotten when she’s not required.
Admittedly Magdalen is a more rounded character than some of Dickens’ many insipid young girls. Unfortunately, she’s such an unpleasant little money-grubber I found it impossible to get up any liking or concern for her. Yes, it must be sad not to be rich if you thought you would be, but frankly she’s hardly poor either in comparison to the true poverty of so many at that time. Norah is considerably more likeable – she decides to earn her living and gets on with it. She and Miss Garth, the girls’ old governess, were the only two characters I cared about at all, and unfortunately Collins dumps them a third of the way through and from then on we only hear little snippets about how they’re getting on, while we spend far too much time with whining Magdalen, the Wragges and the Vanstone household. The problem for me was that the villains were no more despicable than the ostensible heroine of the novel.
But OK, so he’s no Dickens, and his characters’ sole obsession is with acquiring and hoarding money. I could probably still have squeezed some enjoyment out of that if only it hadn’t been so unnecessarily long! I hear you, Collins’ fans – no, it’s not as long as some of Dickens’ books, but Dickens would have had a cast of thousands, each described to unique perfection, with a dozen sub-plots all being juggled masterfully. Here we have one dull plot - “Give me back my money!” - and a handful of unattractive characters, and it’s dragged out for over 700 tortuous pages! Do we all know how it will end? I think we have a fair idea! It’s a Victorian novel after all and there are conventions. So the journey matters since the end is barely in doubt. And this journey is like being on a train for twenty hours with the blinds drawn, and nothing good to read...
Oh dear! I was going to try to make this sound more balanced but sometimes reviews take on their own momentum. There is an interesting introduction in my Oxford World’s Classic edition, by Virginia Blain, Associate Professor in English at Macquarie University in Sydney. Unsurprisingly, she’s considerably more enthusiastic about the book than I, and I enjoyed reading (and disagreeing with) her opinion!
I’m sure fans of Collins’ style will enjoy the book. But for those of us who prefer the flamboyance and genius of a Dickens, then I fear this will taste as thin and unappetising as a plate of Scrooge’s gruel...
* * * * *
PS You may be wondering why I seem to be obsessed with comparing the book to Dickens. This is because I added the book to my TBR, years ago, as a result of a long-running, (relatively) amicable argument I had with two Collins’ fans over which was the better writer. I hereby declare that Dickens and I win! 😉
NB This book was provided for review by the publisher, Oxford World’s Classics.
www.fictionfanblog.wordpress.com
cnohero's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
booksbythecup's review against another edition
5.0
I have stayed up late reading this book many nights since I started it, sometimes because I couldn't sleep and I'd find myself looking up at the clock in surprise (as I am doing right now as I've finished and think reluctantly about work in a few hours).
Wilkie Collins has done it again, this book kept me guesing and I was pleasantly left in suspense more than once, seeing Wragge again before the book ends and it made me smile.
Wilkie Collins has done it again, this book kept me guesing and I was pleasantly left in suspense more than once, seeing Wragge again before the book ends and it made me smile.
emily_bg's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.75
"How was the secret now hidden in the household at Combe Raven doomed to disclose itself? Through what coming event in the daily lives of the father, the mother and the daughters, was the law of revelation destined to break the fatal way to discovery"
The Vanstones live an idealic life at their estate in Somerset. When tragedy strikes the family the Vanstone daughters are left to deal with the fallout from the parents secrets. The story follows the actions of the youngest daughter Magdelen as she strives to recover everything that her family has lost.
In true Wilkie Collins still there is mystery and twists and turns and it was intriguing to see the story unfold even if at times I felt the pace was slow.
The Vanstones live an idealic life at their estate in Somerset. When tragedy strikes the family the Vanstone daughters are left to deal with the fallout from the parents secrets. The story follows the actions of the youngest daughter Magdelen as she strives to recover everything that her family has lost.
In true Wilkie Collins still there is mystery and twists and turns and it was intriguing to see the story unfold even if at times I felt the pace was slow.
pixie_hallows's review against another edition
4.0
I just love Wilkie Collins! This was another fun, albeit long, Victorian Sensation novel. Loved the ending!