American Tales Book

I have read 4 Wilkie Collins novels before this one (The Woman in White, The Moonstone, No Name and Armadale). I enjoyed them all particularly No Name. However, this one was frankly a dose of melodramatic tosh!!

What on earth was the author thinking of when he started the book? Initially it had the feel of an adventure mystery with lost jewels, a wronged father and sailors in distant parts and yet it found its way into tedious domesticity in suburban London!!!

In a sympathetic vein I could try to see the novel through the eyes of a victorian reader of the late 1880s and be sensationalised by the scandal of divorce and the impropriety of the characters but even then the book's characters are insensible puppets performing to Collins' mad whims. I suppose in serial form it might have been a different read and it is possible his readers would have been happy with a lightweight piece of family romance/scandal but I expected a bit more. There is a real inconsistency in the writing. Some passages, particularly setting up scenes or introducing new characters, compare well with the best of his writing but there are chunks of writing that fall well below his usual standard. The plot is woeful, heavily dependent on coincidence and frankly as convoluted as they get....but all for very little meaningful purpose!!

The novel does serve to highlight the views of the late victorian period and the ridiculous attitudes to women, infidelity, marriage, divorce, religion and class. Collins also uses the book to have a pop at the USA and the topical controversy over copyright.

I understand that Collins wrote this in 1885 some 4 years before his death. He was heavily addicted to Laudanum and was in poor health so this probably explains the inconsistency and faults in the novel.

As for the Evil Genius....what a ridiculously bad title!!!