The Queen of Hearts (e-book) (used book) | Wilkie Collins | bookbook.eu

Description

The Queen of Hearts is a collection of ten short stories set within a connecting narrative.
‘The Queen of Hearts’ is the nickname of Jessie Yelverton. Jessie’s father had arranged in his will that she should spend at least six weeks with her elderly guardian, Mr. Griffith. Mr. Griffith lives with his two brothers, Mr. Owen and Mr. Morgan in an isolated house called The Glen Tower in South Wales. The three elderly gentlemen set out to delay her departure for ten days so that she may still be there when Mr. Griffith’s son, George who has fallen in love with her, comes home from the war. What follows is a sort of Arabian Nights or Decameron Nights type of storytelling, where the three brothers tell a different ‘true’ story each evening.
The ten stories are:
Brother Owen’s Story of The Siege of the Black Cottage.
Brother Griffith’s Story of The Family Secret.
Brother Morgan’s Story of The Dream-Woman.
Brother Griffith’s Story of Mad Monkton
Brother Morgan’s Story of The Dead Hand
Brother Griffith’s Story of The Biter Bit.
Brother Owen’s Story of The Parson’s Scruple.
Brother Griffith’s Story of A Plot in Private Life.
Brother Morgan’s Story of Fauntleroy.
Brother Owen’s Story of Anne Rodway.


William 'Wilkie' Collins was an English novelist, poet, and playwright writing in the mid 19th century. His writing was very popular consisting of 27 novels, 50 short stories, and 15 plays and over 100 poems. His best-known works were The Woman in White, The Moonstone and Armadale. Collins was greatly influenced by his friend Charles Dickens. Dickens is considered to be one of the greatest English writers. He was a social activist who wrote plays and novels during the Victorian period.