Amazon.com description: Product Description: A series of tales supposed to be told to a portrait-painter by his sitters; the framework tells us how he came to think of publishing the stories thus collected; the introductions describe the circumstances under which the tales were told. These portions have a delicate every-day interest. The tales are stories of adventure, well varied, and often striking in the incidents, or with thrilling situations; and are as pleasant reading as a novel reader could desire.

Wilkie Collins (1824-1889) was a pioneer of the modern mystery/detective novel. He also wrote on the plight of women and on the social and domestic issues of his time. Highly influential, many later authors of mystery and detective fiction drew inspiration from Collins' works.

This unexpurgated edition contains the complete text, with minor errors and omissions corrected.