No Name

Like many of Wilkie Collins’ works, No Name is a complex story with many twists and turns throughout its intricate plot. The story centers on the Vanstone family and their dramatic trials with the legality of their children. After the tragic deaths of both their parents, the Vanstone children discover that their parents are not, in fact, their parents. The daughters are left with no property and no inheritance. The girls must now fend for themselves. Magdalen, the novel’s heroine, runs off to New York to start a new life. Her ridiculous plots, which include secret letters and marriages, make for a comic suspense story. The novel was originally published as a series of short stories in Charles Dickens’ magazine, All the Year Round. No Name was incredibly popular, but also controversial during the time of its publication. Many critics disapproved of the near-criminal lengths Magdalen goes to in order to save herself from destitution.