In “Miss or Mrs?” Natalie Graybrook is in love with her cousin Launcelot Linzie, but must stay engaged to the detestable Richard Turlington in order to receive her inheritance. “The Frozen Deep” is a play Collins wrote with the help of Charles Dickens, set in the Arctic, and inspired by Sir John Franlkin’s famous expedition in 1845—which ended in cannibalism.
Circa l’autore
William Wilkie Collins (1824–1889) was considered the “godfather” of the detective novel. His “sensation novels” brought Collins great popularity in the Victorian era. He also focused on serious social and domestic issues. Collins published thirty novels (including The Woman in White), more than sixty short stories, and over a dozen plays, in addition to numerous nonfiction pieces.