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sistermagpie's review against another edition
4.0
While Armadale isn't one of Wilkie Collins' most famous books, it's full of the sort of thing he's known for--there's doubles, questions of fate, and most importantly, plots and counter-plots galore. Like in No Name part of the fun of the book is seeing people plotting against others enough to make you fear for them, only to have the plot fall apart by the next chapter so that you don't know what's going ot happen. I spent a lot of the book yelling "Don't be a fool!" at one character or another, and had at least a little sympathy for everyone in the end, even if some of it was reluctant.
The book also made me laugh out loud several times. Of the two Allan Armadales, one is intelligent and nervous (and also biracial) and the other is like a golden retriever in human form, skipping through life thinking he's in a boy's adventure tale instead of a Gothic novel. The scene where he and his equally dim love interest attempt to put their heads together over a law book was hysterical.
To sum up: when I'd gotten to the last 100 pages (this morning) my Nook refused to wake up (still haven't fixed it!) and jumped onto Project Gutenberg to finish it because I didn't want to wait.
The book also made me laugh out loud several times. Of the two Allan Armadales, one is intelligent and nervous (and also biracial) and the other is like a golden retriever in human form, skipping through life thinking he's in a boy's adventure tale instead of a Gothic novel. The scene where he and his equally dim love interest attempt to put their heads together over a law book was hysterical.
To sum up: when I'd gotten to the last 100 pages (this morning) my Nook refused to wake up (still haven't fixed it!) and jumped onto Project Gutenberg to finish it because I didn't want to wait.
pgchuis's review
5.0
Extremely convoluted plot. Two men with the same name who become friends despite the fact that one of their fathers murdered the other; an amoral femme fatale who entrances literally every man she comes across; villainous villains and a gullible hero.
Very enjoyable, although very long and requiring lots of suspension of disbelief. I couldn't quite work out why Midwinter lost interest in Lydia only two weeks after marrying her and I found the narrative of the Dream so boring that I skipped over it, which was perhaps not the best thing to have done.
Definitely "Victorian" in its emotions and attitudes and interesting in its depiction of Victorian laws surrounding marriage.
Fun.
Very enjoyable, although very long and requiring lots of suspension of disbelief. I couldn't quite work out why Midwinter lost interest in Lydia only two weeks after marrying her and I found the narrative of the Dream so boring that I skipped over it, which was perhaps not the best thing to have done.
Definitely "Victorian" in its emotions and attitudes and interesting in its depiction of Victorian laws surrounding marriage.
Fun.
lnatal's review
4.0
Free download available at Project Gutenberg.
And the audio version is available at LibriVox.
To all readers: read the Prologue carefully since it will give all the main hints to the narrative.
Another magnificent and suspenseful story written by Wilkie Collins, my favorite so far.
Major Characters:
Allan Armadale
Ozias Midwinter – His friend
Lydia Gwilt – Forger and laudanum addict, the anti-heroine of the novel
Minor characters:
Decimus Brock – A minister and friend of Alan Armadale and Ozias Midwinter. He is a correspondent of Ozias Midwinter and privy to his secret
Mrs Maria Oldershaw – owner of the Laadies' Toilet Repository and Lydia Gwilt's co-conspirator
Allan Armadale (1st) – Father of Allan Armadale (2nd)
Allan Armadale (2nd) – Son of Allan Armadale (1st) and father of the main character Allan Armadale
Allan Armadale (3rd) – Father of Ozias Midwinter and murderer of Allan Armadale (2nd)
Mr. Neal – Stepfather to Ozias Midwinter
Mr. Bashwood; Lydia Gwilt's admirer and Allan Armadale's steward
Miss Milroy; resident of Thorpe Ambrose and neighbor to Allan Armadale, later to be Armadale's fiancée
Augustus Pedgift, Sr. – lawyer and adviser to Allan Armadale
Augustus Pedgift, Jr. – Pedgift's son , a junior lawyer and friend to Allan Armadale
Dr. Downward – criminal associate of Mrs. Oldershaw, later the founder & operator of Friendvale Sanatorium
Captain Manuel – one of Lydia's Gwilt's former husbands
First edition cover, which was first published in serial form in Cornhill Magazine in 20 monthly installments from November 1864 until June 1866.
There is TV series Der rote Schal (1973) which was made based on this book, with Ellen Schwiers as Lydia Gwilt, Heinz Ehrenfreund as Allan Armadale, Fred Haltiner as Ozias Midwinter.
3* The Woman in White
4* The Moonstone
4* Who Killed Zebedee?
4* The Dead Alive
4* Mrs. Zant and the Ghost
3* A Fair Penitent
4* The Frozen Deep
4* The Haunted Hotel
4* The Law and the Lady
4* No Name
3* My Lady's Money
3* Mad Monkton And Other Stories
4* Armadale
TBR Poor Miss Finch
TBR Blind Love
TBR The Dead Secret
TBR Man and Wife
TBR Basil
And the audio version is available at LibriVox.
To all readers: read the Prologue carefully since it will give all the main hints to the narrative.
Another magnificent and suspenseful story written by Wilkie Collins, my favorite so far.
Major Characters:
Allan Armadale
Ozias Midwinter – His friend
Lydia Gwilt – Forger and laudanum addict, the anti-heroine of the novel
Minor characters:
Decimus Brock – A minister and friend of Alan Armadale and Ozias Midwinter. He is a correspondent of Ozias Midwinter and privy to his secret
Mrs Maria Oldershaw – owner of the Laadies' Toilet Repository and Lydia Gwilt's co-conspirator
Allan Armadale (1st) – Father of Allan Armadale (2nd)
Allan Armadale (2nd) – Son of Allan Armadale (1st) and father of the main character Allan Armadale
Allan Armadale (3rd) – Father of Ozias Midwinter and murderer of Allan Armadale (2nd)
Mr. Neal – Stepfather to Ozias Midwinter
Mr. Bashwood; Lydia Gwilt's admirer and Allan Armadale's steward
Miss Milroy; resident of Thorpe Ambrose and neighbor to Allan Armadale, later to be Armadale's fiancée
Augustus Pedgift, Sr. – lawyer and adviser to Allan Armadale
Augustus Pedgift, Jr. – Pedgift's son , a junior lawyer and friend to Allan Armadale
Dr. Downward – criminal associate of Mrs. Oldershaw, later the founder & operator of Friendvale Sanatorium
Captain Manuel – one of Lydia's Gwilt's former husbands
First edition cover, which was first published in serial form in Cornhill Magazine in 20 monthly installments from November 1864 until June 1866.
There is TV series Der rote Schal (1973) which was made based on this book, with Ellen Schwiers as Lydia Gwilt, Heinz Ehrenfreund as Allan Armadale, Fred Haltiner as Ozias Midwinter.
3* The Woman in White
4* The Moonstone
4* Who Killed Zebedee?
4* The Dead Alive
4* Mrs. Zant and the Ghost
3* A Fair Penitent
4* The Frozen Deep
4* The Haunted Hotel
4* The Law and the Lady
4* No Name
3* My Lady's Money
3* Mad Monkton And Other Stories
4* Armadale
TBR Poor Miss Finch
TBR Blind Love
TBR The Dead Secret
TBR Man and Wife
TBR Basil
More...