Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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46 of 47 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
a sadly neglected gem..., August 29, 2000
Wilkie Collins is known primarily for two novels: 'The Woman in White' and 'The Moonstone'. Both novels are indeed quite enjoyable. However I found them to be very different, and almost "unbalanced". 'The Woman in White' is a complex novel, a rollercoaster of plot-twists at a hysterical pace. On the other hand, 'The Moonstone' is a slow-paced mystery which moves towards a satisfying conclusion. 'No Name' fits nicely in between.'No Name' is a story about how two sisters go on different paths on coming to terms with life after being mistreated by a cruel twist of fate, and being the victim of inhumane Victorian-era society (and its laws). The elder sister carries on without mishap, while the younger sister seeks justice at any expense ... to the extent of performing unethical and criminal activities herself. While seeking justice she encounters some rather equally cunning individuals (..another woman in particular), and the story unfolds into a battle of who can outfox whom. And it becomes abundantly clear that the person viewed initially as the victim is actually very cruel. Finally, I have to recommend the Penguin Classic version of this novel for one simple reason: its cover is great. It is a painting of a young woman ("Miss Dene") who has such a sad, reflective expression on her face that one feels she is indeed the poor, suffering (yet malicious) younger sister Magdalen.
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21 of 21 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
"Mr. Vanstone's daughters are Nobody's Children", March 29, 2005
4 1/2 stars, but I rounded up.
No Name is the story and portrait of Magdalen Vanstone... or as Wilkie introduces his novel in the preface, "Here is one more book that depicts the struggle of a human creature, under those opposing influences of Good and Evil, which we have all felt, which we have all known." It's a fairly accurate description as throughout the course of the story, we see the evolution of the character of our heroine; we see her heading down a shady path, but yet somehow from a 21st century perspective, Magdalen manages to make it seem not so immoral. Often times I see her trying to act as morally as she can in the unmoral situations she chooses to involve herself in. Part of No Name's strength, arises from the deftness in which Collins creates Magdalen. She posseses such an enormous range in character and emotion that if No Name were ever to be made into a movie, actresses would vie to have her role.
When Magdalen and her sister's inheritance are taken away due to unexpected familial circumstances, Magdalen resolutely follows a reckless path of revenge. While not exactly your Victorian equivalent of your "Kill Bill," the novel seems closer in spirit to Alexander Dumas's novel: The Count of Monte Cristo. Of course it doesn't have the swashbuckling quality of Dumas's novel as there are no fight scenes to the death. Collins's novel is set in a domestic scene with a female protagonist and the action is far tamer. It is equally gripping though because it's the chase of the revenge that's the fun part; the deceit and swindling involved, the careful measuring of your enemy's abilities that is part of charm. Collins was genius to embroil a female in a revenge type of plot and I'm just amazed at how much free agency Collins bestows upon Magdalen - a female living in Victorian times. He completely cuts her off from the ties of society and gives her free reign.
While I was reading, I felt that the novel could be loosely separated into 3 quite different parts - each with it's own distinct pacing and mood. It goes quite well with the divisions of the triple-decker novel they had long ago. I'm not spoiling much because the novel covers such massive ground, but the first part covers the idyllic times of the Vanstone family and we come to see how the inheritance is stripped from the Vanstone daughters. The second part (the best and my favorite) follows Magdalen as she pursues her revenge with the superior help of the rogue Captain Wragge, a self-proclaimed, "moral agriculturist" (I'll leave you to discover what he means by it). Wragge is one of Collins' best creations (he even beats out Count Fosco in my mind). A short, brown eyed, green eyed creature with enormous talents and verbal abilities, he is very resourceful, calculates very well, and is able to adapt quickly to whatever is needed in each situation. One of the highlights of No Name resides in Wragge's chronicle describing Magdalen's progress. The other crowning achievement is the cat and mouse game played between Captain Wragge and Madame Lecount (the housekeeper and keeper of the interest of Magdalen's victim). Both are directors of people and there is a large amount of plotting and counter-plotting that goes on that keeps the pages turning. It is here that No Name rivals that of The Woman in White, and if Collins had continued to write in this vein, No Name could have been on an equal footing to Woman in White.
However it is in the third part -dealing with the fallout of the revenge- that No Name becomes more flawed. I would say especially so in the ending. Quite a lot of Victorians found the ending distasteful, but the modern reader might find it a little dissatisfying for a completely different reason.
As No Name was delivered right after Collins's magnum opus, The Woman in White, there was a possibility of being in its shadow. However, Collins more than safely overcomes such a hurdle. He's crafted an entirely different story. Although in a way, I almost see No Name as an inverse of Woman in White. Think of a story looking and rooting from the side of Sir Percieval and Count Fosco--the nefarious plotting to take away an inheritance--and in a way, it is the story of Madgalen and Captain Wragge. Of course our sympathies are on completely different sides and this is due to the strength of Collins's characterizations. But that said, the books feel almost nothing alike.
In the end, although not as tightly plotted as The Woman in White and a bit more flawed, No Name is more ambitious, covers more ground, more character development, a lot more stories, introduces way more secondary characters, and is pretty amazing as a whole. It's a massive novel in which Collins fleshes out so many people (and for Collins that usually means, so many people to like) and Collins is able to accomplish a measurable change and growth in the character of Magdalen. The more I reflect on the novel, the better it gets for me, and the more amazed I am at all that Wilkie attempted and accomplished.
I recommend reading the Oxford World's Classics edition for its excellent introduction by Virginia Blain. It hits spot-on about everything that is good and bad about the novel as well as going into the themes of acting and of plotting (both human plotting and writer plotting).
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23 of 24 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
An Accessible Victorian, March 31, 2000
Wilkie Collins holds a unique spot among the Victorian novelists. His intricate plots don't dawdle -- they move, with cliffhangers throughout. And, he has a remarkably clear writing style that makes his works almost as accessible as those of a modern thriller writer. "No Name" has both plots galore and clarity, along with deeper character sketches than "The Woman in White" and "The Moonstone". I rate it slightly below its more famous siblings because of a) the ending -- which was rather too contrived, even for Collins -- and b) a bit too much melodrama as Magdalen approaches her nuptials. To potential first time Collins readers, I recommend starting with "The Moonstone" and then moving to "The Woman in White". If you enjoy these, you should definitely proceed to "No Name".
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