Wilkie Collins

A long-ago murder unites two distantly-related cousins. After running away from his abusive home, Allan Armadale chases fate and reinvents himself as Ozias Midwinter. He quickly befriends his cousin, also named Allan Armadale, who inherits an estate but becomes encumbered by his newfound wealth. The cousins’ relationship is further complicated by the interference of Lydia Gwilt, a governess and fortune-hunter who was also involved in that long-ago murder.

In this 1874 novella by Wilkie Collins, the celebrated British writer of sensation fiction tells the tale of two brothers sentenced to be executed for having committed a murder that never occurred, and of the energetic Naomi Colebrook's efforts to ferret out the truth and save the two innocents.

Warned by a servant to avoid a particular room in her ancestral home, Porthgenna Tower, a wealthy heiress searches the room only to discover a long-held secret that has the potential to strip her of her inheritance. But when Rosamund Treverton reveals the secret of her birth, she is surprised by the reactions of those closest to her.

An enigmatic countess with a wicked past, a terrible crime, a shadowy Venetian palazzo and a grisly apparition demanding vengeance - all the ingredients for a vintage Gothic horror tale. Also includes the short story 'The Dream Woman'.

Man and Wife centres on the confused and inequitable marriage laws of 19th-century Britain, reflecting the author’s own antipathy toward the institution. The plot follows the fortunes of a woman who, committed to marriage with one man, comes to believe that she may have inadvertently married his friend, according to the archaic laws of Scotland and Ireland. Collins shows himself to be a masterly storyteller, seamlessly moving the action from a country house to a suburb of London, and into a world of deceit and murder.

The beautiful moonstone is given to Rachel Verrinder as a birthday present, but the fabulous diamond brings with it a terrible curse.

Magdalen Vanstone and her sister Norah learn the true meaning of social stigma in Victorian England after the sudden death of their dearly loved parents, leaves them orphaned. The traumatic discovery that they were not married at the time of their birth leaves the daughters with no name, no rights and no property. With the help only of their loyal governess Miss Garth, the two girls set out to make their own way in the world.

Wilkie Collins was one of Victorian England's best-loved and best-selling authors, and a crime fiction pioneer. His enthralling 'sensation novels' such as The Woman in White paved the way for today's thrillers, and his tour de force The Moonstone is one of the first, and greatest, modern detective stories. This collection features dramatisations of these two masterpieces, with star casts including Toby Stephens (The Woman in White) and John Sharp (The Moonstone). Also included are adaptations of three of Collins' other major novels: No Name, The Law and the Lady and The Haunted Hotel, starring Sophie Thompson, Abigail Docherty and Henry Lloyd respectively. Collins was a prolific short story writer, and included here are a number of his shorter tales, such as a full-cast dramatisation of the ghost story 'Mad Monkton', starring Gary Bond, and readings of five tales of suspense: 'The Dream Woman' (read by David Suchet), 'The Biter Bit' (read by John Rowe), 'A Terribly Strange Bed' (read by Paul Daneman), 'The Stolen Letter' (read by Garard Green) and 'The Dead Hand' (read by Peter Marinker).

Plus, the darkly comic 'Mrs Badgery' is read by Christopher Harper, while Ronald Pickup reads the murder mystery 'Who Killed Zebedee?', taken from the 1887 short story collection Little Novels. There are also dramatisations of five additional Little Novels tales: 'Miss Jeromette and the Clergyman', 'Mr Marmaduke and the Minister', 'Miss Bertha and the Yankee', 'Miss Morris and the Stranger' and 'Mr Percy and the Prophet', all starring Ronald Pickup as Wilkie Collins. A lifelong friend of Charles Dickens, Collins collaborated with him on several works including 'A House to Let', which was co-written by Collins, Dickens, Elizabeth Gaskell and Adelaide Anne Proctor. Marcia Warren stars in an adaptation of this exciting tale of secrets and intrigue. Finally, in Night Waves: The Woman in White, Matthew Sweet joins Simon Callow, Kate Summerscale, Paul Lewis and Lisa Appignanesi to discuss the groundbreaking novel that catapulted Collins to literary stardom, exploring its lasting influence and asking how it stands up today.

Late one night, a drawing teacher has a midnight encounter on a lonely road with a mysterious and agitated woman dressed entirely in white, whom he helps to escape from pursuers. Who is she, and what is her connection to the teacher's new pupil, a beautiful heiress?