Armadale (Penguin Classics) (Paperback)

~ (Author), John Sutherland (Editor, Contributor) "It was the opening of the season of eighteen hundred and thirty-two, at the Baths of WILDBAD..." (more)
Key Phrases: purple flask, tidal train, waking impressions, Miss Gwilt, Miss Milroy, Major Milroy (more...)

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Product Description

When the elderly Allan Armadale makes a terrible confession on his death-bed, he has little idea of the repercussions to come, for the secret he reveals involves the mysterious Lydia Gwilt: flame-haired temptress, bigamist, laudanum addict and husband-poisoner. Her malicious intrigues fuel the plot of this gripping melodrama: a tale of confused identities, inherited curses, romantic rivalries, espionage, money - and murder. The character of Lydia Gwilt horrified contemporary critics, with one reviewer describing her as 'One of the most hardened female villains whose devices and desires have ever blackened fiction'. She remains among the most enigmatic and fascinating women in nineteenth-century literature and the dark heart of this most sensational of Victorian 'sensation novels'.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 752 pages
• Publisher: Penguin Classics (October 1, 1995)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0140434119
• ISBN-13: 978-0140434118
• Product Dimensions: 7.7 x 5.1 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (12 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #86,985 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

28 of 30 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Spectacular Suspense Thriller - Collins At His Best!!, September 11, 2005

By	Jana L. Perskie "ceruleana" (New York, NY USA) - See all my reviews (TOP 100 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

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Wilkie Collins' suspense thriller "Armadale" contains no less than four main characters, named Allen Armadale - two fathers, each with a single son and heir. Only one Allen Armadale, however, is the rightful owner of the estate, Thorpe-Ambrose, plus a fortune in pounds sterling, and title to land and wealth in Barbados, West Indies. Although the plot sounds convoluted, if only by containing so many characters of the same name, I have to say this is compelling reading at its best, and the narrative is extremely understandable and well paced. The author is a master storyteller.

Allen Armadale, (let's call him #2), makes a death bed confession in 1832, at the Swiss health resort of Wildbad. The only English speaker available to document the dying man's final words is a Scot, Mr. Neal. This shocking written disclosure is then mailed to Armadale's executors to be given to his infant son, (Allen Armadale #3), when he comes of age.

Armadale, (#2), nee Wrentmore, was born in Barbados and upon turning twenty-one he received a surprise inheritance from his godfather, a Mr. Armadale, of Thorpe-Ambrose in Norfolk, England. The young man would become the owner of his godfather's considerable Barbadian estate on the condition that he change his name to match that of his benefactor. It was thus that Allen Wrentmore became Allen Armadale, the largest proprietor and wealthiest man on Barbados. The elder Armadale had just disinherited his own profligate son, Allen Armadale #1. The infamous son, going by the pseudonym Fergus Ingleby, turns up in Barbados shortly thereafter and befriends his distant cousin, the newest addition to the Armadale line. The consequences of this relationship are dire.

Years later, another pair of Armadale men (#3 and #4), both in their early twenties, meet and become the best of friends. Although each has been warned never to come into contact with the other, there is, initially, no way for them to recognize each other's true identities. As with their forefathers, a generation before, a pseudonym is involved here. Unlike their fathers, however, both are totally innocent of malicious intent.

All four Allen Armadales are connected by the most enigmatic, fascinating villainess that I know of in literature, Lydia Gwilt - although her name leaves much to be desired aesthetically. Miss Gwilt, perhaps fiction's first femme fatale, is a beautiful, sensual, flame-haired temptress. She is also a bigamist, dope addict, forger, and murderess....at the very least, and probably the book's most intelligent personage. Her intrigues drive the plot of this gripping drama: a tale of murder, espionage, counter-espionage, criminal fraud, adultery, inescapable destiny, romantic rivalries, confused identities, innumerable secrets and lies. Also included in the storyline is a chilling portrait of an abortionist with a bizarre clinic, which he utilizes with lethal intent. Amazingly, Mr Collins' book was published in 1866...and we complain about too much crime and violence in today's entertainment! A book reviewer of the period wrote of Lydia Gwilt in the "The Athenaeum," (1866), "One of the most hardened female villains whose devices and desires have ever blackened fiction." I find that none of Collins' characters are all good or all bad, though, and Miss Gwilt certainly earned my sympathy on more than one occasion. The author's three dimensional characters are just one of the many reasons "Armadale" is such an addictive read.

Collins controls complex plots and subplots with seeming ease. He focuses on the question of fate as opposed to free will. Are our destinies predetermined or can they be altered? One of the main characters fights relentlessly against what he is convinced is his fate. At other times, he seems reconciled to it. The novel also introduces the first private detective that I know of in fiction, in the person of Mr. Bashwood - certainly no model for Sherlock Holmes, Sam Spade or Mike Hammer.

Wilkie Collins was a close friend of Charles Dickens, and they both serialized their popular fiction, called 'sensation novels' by many. The nineteenth-century Victorian serial novel allowed authors to make a single story last for years, like today's most popular soap operas. This type of fiction was much more topical, and targeted a wider audience than our soaps, however. The history of the serial gives an understanding of how important writers like Charles Dickens and Wilkie Collins were to serial publication and how important serial publication was to nineteenth-century readers. Other popular episode writers of the time were Alexander Dumas, Anthony Trollope, George Eliot, William M. Thackeray, etc.. Wilkie Collins, called master of the cliff-hanger is famously quoted for saying: "Make 'em cry, make 'em laugh, make 'em wait - exactly in that order."

A recently discovered interview with Wilkie Collins reveals that "Armadale" was his own favorite among his works. I have read both "The Woman in White" and "The Moonstone" and found them to be exceptional, really great reads. "Armadale" may be the best of the three. I was absolutely riveted. Highly recommended!
JANA

25 of 28 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An Amazingly Good Read!, December 30, 1999

By	Lauryn Angel-cann (Frisco, TX) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This novel is quite on par with _The Woman In White_, and I think I may even like this novel just a little bit more. I particularly like the fact that in this novel, Collins lets the villain tell a large portion of the story, making her a more sympathetic character than Count Fosco ever was. Throughout the novel, you know full-well that Lydia Gwilt is a wicked woman and that she is out to destroy Alan Armadale, but you can't help wishing her success. (The fact that Alan Armadale is a complete jerk doesn't hurt her case, either!)

Of course, the Most Sympathetic Character Award doesn't go to Lydia; it goes to the ever-suffering Ozias Midwinter. From his birth, this poor guy never gets a chance to be happy, but you'll have to read the book yourself to find out why not.

This book doesn't have the humorous, tension-easing characters of _The Moonstone_ or _The Woman In White_, but, as you might expect from Wilkie Collins, this book is fast-paced, entertaining, and an amazingly good read!

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Psychological Experiment Disguised as Elegant Suspense Thriller, June 3, 2006

By	Randall Simons - See all my reviews

The back of the Penguin edition labels this book as a "sensation novel", serialized stories that were a main form of entertainment in the 19th century. I mention this because reading Armadale feels like you are watching an amazing season of a great soap--albeit this requires much more intelligence than an OC DVD.

"Armadale" starts off with the death of a an affluent man named Allan Armadale, who leaves a horrible secret to tell. I knew this would be a good novel when, unlike many other period novels, the secret still feels shocking. Too many "masterpieces" trump up such huge secrets and you're let down when it turns out to be a minor infidelity or fraud that a modern reader cannot relate to. Anyway, this secret stimulates double identities, lies, extortion, blackmail and--wait for it--murder! The plot takes more twists and turns than a Coney Island rollercoaster, but it never becomes hard to follow. This novel could justifiably be qualified as "convoluted" but it's never incoherent.

But the real reason I recommend this novel is Lydia Gwilt. She's an excellent villainess, making the average film noir femme fatale come off like June Cleaver. But the genius of this novel is how Collins plays with our consciences. Yes as moral readers we want good to triumph over evil. Or do we? One of the heroes comes off as such a moron (you'll know who when you read) that you so just want him to feel pain. After 200 pages of him fopping around, it becomes almost unbearable to read this dribble. Enter Lydia Gwilt to shake things up. LAter on in the book, Gwilt begins fighting with her conscience. While reading these portions, I was frustrated because I really wanted her to be the ultimate ice queen. In retrospect, those sections are excellent mind games that make you decide if you want Gwilt to stand for good or evil.

I completely understand why this book was reviled upon its release: Who wants to relate to the vile Ms. Gwilt? Modern readers should love "Armadale" for the very reasons 19th century readers hated it.

Is this book perfect? Hardly. Midwinter, a main character, comes off as flakey as he has whole solliloquies where he worries about fate and how it could hurt his friends. Lighten up!! Plus, the ending is way too optimistic and seems out of place with the novel. But these are minor qualms. I could go on and on about the fully-realized characters, the elaborate set-pieces and the delightfully witty dialogue (especially when Gwilt starts talking). Clocking in at over 650 pages, it's a long book. But stick with it. By page 200, you'll be thankful that you have so much more to go.