No Name

William Wilkie Collins (1824 – 1889) was an English novelist, playwright, and author of short stories. His best-known works are The Woman in White, The Moonstone, Armadale, and No Name. Collins published his best known works in the 1860s, achieving financial stability and an international reputation. During this time he began suffering from gout, and developed an addiction to opium, which he took (in the form of laudanum) for pain. He continued to publish novels and other works throughout the 1870s and 80s, but the quality of his writing declined along with his health.


No name by Wilkey Collins tells the story of the Vanstone family, specifically of Norah and Magdalen, Mr and Mrs Vanstone's daugthers. In the beginning of the novel this family has a feature of happy and prosperous life. In fact, the real life of this family is far from ideal point and it is going to change radically. It’s a story about social and psychological motivations rather than one about pointless tricks, and Collins confuses the heroes and the villains to the point where you don’t quite know who to root for, or what kind of ending you’d like best. No name is a novel of life where everything may be different or wrong even more than you may suppose.