Customer Reviews

The Dead Secret: A Novel and Little Novel: Miss Bertha and the Yankee

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4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(2)
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This is the last of what critics refer to as Collins's "apprentice novels", meaning that this is the last novel he wrote before he achieved fame with _The Woman in White_. Many of the themes Collins used in _The Woman in White_ seem to have been tested here, most notably the question of the identity of a mysterious woman, but the themes of legitimacy and secrecy play important parts as well. Collins also has a non-British character with a prominent part in this novel, but the German Uncle Joseph is as endearing as the Italian Count Fosco is sinister. Andrew Treverton and his servant, Shrowl, provide comic relief in a manner similar to Frederick Fairlie -- they exhibit the type of antisocial behavior that is irritating in real life, but is somehow rendered amusing in print.

Unlike _The Woman in White_ or _The Moonstone_, there are no real villains in this novel. There are no intrigues to gain fortunes. There is, however, a ghost. Or is there? The mystery of this novel is of the commonplace variety; it is a question of a domestic secret rather than that of a stolen Indian diamond or a woman's sanity. Despite all of this, the novel is still a page turner. Even after the story became a bit predictable, I couldn't put the book down until I knew for sure what happened to Rosamond Frankland and Sarah Leeson.

As usual, Collins has assembled an interesting bunch of characters: the sea captain, the actress, the misanthrope, the mysterious maid, and the young married couple. I found Sarah Leeson to be at once the most interesting and the most sympathetic character. This woman has obviously had a tragic past, a past which torments her, and it is only at the novel's close that Collins reveals what happened to destroy her happiness.

All-in-all, this is a charming, fast-paced read that would be perfect for a lazy Saturday afternoon.

Wilkie Collins has written some brilliant crime/mystery novels during his career, most notably The Woman in White / No Name / The Moonstone. His earlier works are almost unknown nowadays. But such obscurity is unwarrented, at least in the case of The Dead Secret.

The Dead Secret tells a simple story of a mystery surrounding an untold secret of a dying wealthy woman. This woman's secret is shared only with her servant. Despite the woman's dying wish, the servant does not divulge the secret ... with unpleasent results. Eventually the secret is revealed and all is understood.

The novel works well mostly because it is fast paced, and it has all the richness of a Collins novel (ie, it is well-written). No, it isn't as clever or suspenseful as Collins's later works. But Wilkie Collins fans should place The Dead Secret on their 'must read' list.

Mrs Treverton, who is not expected to live through the night, summons her lady's maid, Sarah Leeson, to her side. Their hushed conversation reveals that, many years ago, Sarah and Mrs Treverton conspired together to cover up a devastating family secret. With her death fast approaching, Mrs Treverton demands the expiation of that guilt and attempts to force Sarah to reveal the details of the secret to her husband by giving him the hand-written confession which they prepare and sign together that night. While the timid, brow-beaten Sarah is unable to muster the mental courage to destroy the note, she somehow pulls her thoughts together and finds the strength to hide the note in a long abandoned room in Porthgenna mansion in order to keep the secret hidden from her master. When she sees the stricken Captain Treverton weeping, mourning his wife's death by hugging their infant daughter, Rosamond, and asking the baby for her comfort in dealing with his grief, Sarah realizes that the hypocrisy necessary to stay at Porthgenna mansion while the note was hidden there is beyond her and she flees into the night!

The story resumes some fifteen years later as an adult Rosamond, newly married to her loving squire, Leonard Frankland, inherits Porthgenna mansion and they make plans to implement a program of renovations which will restore the estate to its former glory. A series of coincidences result in Sarah encountering Rosamond and coming to the horrifying realization that the secret is in imminent danger of being brought to light! At that point, the messy stuff hits the fan and the balance of this wonderful classic novel is spent unearthing the sordid details of the secret and its emotional and practical impact on each of the characters that Collins has so lovingly and skillfully constructed.

"The Dead Secret", the last of the so-called apprentice novels that Collins wrote before he vaulted to fame as an acknowledged master of English literature with the publication of "The Woman in White" and "The Moonstone" is a superb example of the stereotypical Victorian sensation novel - Sarah Leeson, the timid, socially naïve, weak-willed and fundamentally flawed female victim of a selfish conspiracy that revolves around the hidden details of Rosamond's birth and inheritance; as an actress, an occupation in Victorian England of suspect virtue and credibility, Mrs Treverton is subject to vicious contempt from the misanthropic Andrew Treverton, her brother-in-law, who shares rooms with the equally spiteful Shrowl; a well to do woman with a dark secret that may or may not involve a criminal act; an inheritance in question; tragedy, irony, drama, outrageous comic relief and even a ghost! What more delicious menu could the most discriminating reader of Victorian fiction hope for?

Paul Weiss

Wilkie Collins' The Dead Secret is the second of his works that I have treated myself to. And while (having not read anything about the plot before opening the book) the 'secret' was relatively easy to figure out as I went along...the 'why' and the 'what happened next' were just as important as the 'what' of the secret, and kept me entertained throughout.

Opening with a death, a servant fleeing the house of her deceased mistress in terror of the 'secret' being revealed by a deathbed confession left behind by her mistress, and the desire to not be followed, nor tracked down and pressed for the details of that secret, this work starts with more promise and intrigue than most modern 'sensation' novels offer in 30 chapters. The servant, Sarah, who has promised not to destroy the confession or remove it from the house,determines to hide the confession in an unused room in the house, in the hopes that it will never be found, and takes her leave of Porthgenna Tower, hoping never to see it again.

Further reading introduces the character of Rosamond Treverton Frankland, the newly wed daughter of the deceased mistress of Porthgenna Tower, who opens the novel by confessing her secret. Rosamond and her husband, Leonard, begin to make their way back to Porthgenna Tower, sold years prior between the fathers of both the bride and the groom, with the intention of making it their home. But the arrival of their unborn child, and the requirement of a nurse for the mother and baby in a small town, brings a presence back into Rosamond's life that she could never have anticipated.

To give away any further details will spoil most of the story. Therefore, I shall refrain. Collins, like one of my other favorite novelists, Charles Dickens, has a wonderful way with characterization. While his novels are not quite as scathing as Dickens' were, Collins does paint very real, very entertaining, very engaging characters for his works.

Other reviewers have given their opinion of this as a pre-cursor to the greater, more well-known novels of Wilkie Collins. I, like others interested in literature of this period, of course know of 'The Woman in White', and 'The Moonstone', but thus far have never read them. Other novelists as well-known as Collins; Thomas Hardy, Dickens, Dumas, and many others have far more works available to read than just the 'biggies' that most people know of. After reading 'The Dead Secret', I am once again convinced that authors such as these deserve a reading of most, if not all, their works, from any stage in their careers. While 'Woman in White' and 'The Moonstone' may be far better known...and the product of a more mature novelist.....The Dead Secret is not a story to be overlooked by fans of Wilkie Collins.

The more I read of Wilkie Collin's impressive body of work, I come to believe he is the greatest of the largely forgotten writers of the 19th century. While I certainly enjoy some of the Jane Austen novels being dramatized on PBS, I think this book and certainly the fantastic Woman in White would captivate modern viewers. Many of the scenes in this novel are very theatrical and I think would look translate great to television. Maybe his revival will come someday! Like his other books and stories, The Dead Secret tells the story of a "fallen woman", a favorite topic of many Victorian authors, but many of the themes here, such as the loss and transformation of identity, are strikingly modern. This is not Collin's best novel by far it is no less entertaining and a book that is very hard to put down. Plus Mozart's Don Giovanni (Collins' favorite composer) plays a small role in the novel, which is always a treat!

Wilkie Collins wrote "The Dead Secret" early in his career as a novelist, and his inexperience shows here--but the Collins aficionado will welcome the opportunity to see how his gifts first manifest themselves in this relatively simple story. He gathers together all the usual suspects: a wealthy family, an old house, a charming child, and the member of the house staff who harbors the secret in question. While Collins falls short in his effort to sketch an unrequited yearning (I can't go into more detail if you haven't read the book), he does a beautiful job of portraying the subtle class differences and behaviors in this particular house.

The story begins with Mrs. Treverton on her deathbed who charges her maid, Sarah Leeson, with revealing a castastrophic secret that they share to Mr. Treverton. But after Mrs. Trevorton dies, Sarah can not face revealing this devastating secret to her master and decides to hide the letter containing the secret in an uninhabited part of the house. After she flees, the story picks up 15 years later observing Mrs. Treverton's newly wed daughter, Rosamund, and her husband, Leonard. The Secret hidden by Sarah holds bad tidings for them, and the rest of the novel revolves around how this secret is finally revealed. The big difference between this and Collins' better novels is the lack of characterization in this one. Although Sarah attracts the interest and sympathy of the reader and Uncle Joseph provides a nice dose of innocence and heartfelt kindness, the rest of the characters fail to strike an emotional chord. The servants are also not nearly as interesting as they are in Collins' masterpiece, The Moonstone. Knowing that the secret letter would negatively affect the happy couple instills the reader with a feeling of dread and anticipation, but once the secret was revealed, the story was fairly predictable. If you've read some of Collins' other novels and enjoyed them, you'll probably like this one too. Just don't expect anything jaw-dropping compared to his better known novels like The Moonstone or The Woman in White. Collins was a fantastic writer, who's sadly now commonly neglected.

I love Wilkie Collins' style of writing; an adept storyteller, there's depth to his novels that makes reading his work so rewarding. I've read now four books by him (The Woman in White, No Name, The Moonstone, and The Dead Secret) and every one has been a winner. The Dead Secret is no exception. A precursor to The Woman in White, the reader can definitely see the workings and methods he had in place for this next great novel. He incorporates mistaken identities, illegitimacy, ghostly encounters, creepy atmosphere, secrets, and even a bit of moral about the importance of trust, honesty, and faithfulness, especially within the family. He also has colorful, off beat, minor characters who give a little comic relief to the mystery every now and then. Collins has a way of bringing every mystery to life; as we read, we experience the suspicion, anxieties and fears along with the main characters. We are led to guess as much as they are, so it is a treat to enjoy a book by him.

The Dead Secret's first scene pulls you in right away. At Porthgenna Tower, Mrs. Treverson is on her death bed with her faithful lady servant, Sarah Leeson. There is a secret that only those two women are aware of. In her final moments, Mrs. Treverson apparently wants to clear her conscious of this secret and inform her husband. She has Sarah get a paper and begin to write down a note concerning the secret, and is in the process of having her swear to tell the secret when death takes her. Beforehand, she had startled the already nervous servant by telling her that she would visit "from the other world" to make sure she had fulfilled her promise. Sarah's agitation at her mistress' final words is evident, but she is determined to keep this secret away from those at the Treverson household. Resolving to slip away from Porthgenna Tower after hiding the secret in one of the north rooms, she avoids questioning by Captain Treverson about revealing what Mrs. Treverson had said on her death bed. The story shifts to fifteen years later, with Rosamond Treverson and her blind husband, Leonard Franklin, preparing to live in Porthgenna Tower (years later the house had been purchased by the Franklins). Several events delay Rosamond and Leonard from getting there, one of which is the birth of a daughter. Circumstances force a mysterious nurse, Mrs. Jazeph, to come and care for Rosamond during her days after giving birth. Mrs. Jazeph acts odd indeed, which both frightens and intrigues Rosamond, as the nurse seems to have visions of a ghostly apparition. Mrs. Jazeph is eventually dismissed, but not before extending an ominous warning to Rosamond: "Don't go into the Myrtle Room!" From here, Rosamond and Leonard are off to their long awaited destination, with the ominous warning in Rosamond's mind. Naturally the first thing Rosamond wants to do is find the Myrtle Room at Porthgenna Tower. The story focuses from here on what the secret is, who will find it, and what repercussions will come once it is found.

There is a race against time from those who want the secret found and those who want it hid. Deception is at the heart of the story, but you can usually stay one step ahead of what is going on. Although the "secret" is revealed with some time to spare in the novel, the unraveling of events still make for an enjoyable conclusion.

I would probably rank The Dead Secret a shade below some of the more prominent ones (No Name, The Woman in White, The Moonstone), but it is still highly entertaining. It is a relatively shorter work compared to those, running at a little over three hundred pages, and, although less complex than the big novels, is a fascinating atmospheric mystery.

Another fantastic read from Collins!

4 1/2 stars

When Rosamond Treverton dies she urges her maid, Sarah Leeson, to deliver a letter containing a terrible secret to her husband. The secret is so horrible that the dying Rosamond threatens Sarah with coming back from the grave if the letter is destroyed or removed from the home. Sarah does neither of these things, but the secret remains hidden and is never delivered to Rosamond's husband after her death.

When Rosamond's daughter, who bears her name, grows up she inherits the ancient home of Porthgenna Tower. Rosmand and her husband arrive at the Tower only to be haunted by the secrets hidden within its walls.

The Dead Secret is one of Wilkie Collins's finest mystery novels. I was a little disappointed with the big revelation, but the mystery leading up to the big disclosure was Collins at his best.

The novel is full of wonderfully vivid characters such as: Andrew Treverton, Mr Shrowl and Uncle Joseph. I found the character development in this book very impressive. They reminded me of characters from a Charles Dickens novel. The Dead Secret is an intriguing mystery novel that will keep you awake at night. If you loved The Moonstone, you must read this novel.

Wilkie Collins was in a class by himself. This lesser known tale
was a favorite of mine and I gave it as a gift.