Welcome to Litsy!

Well, I was going to go with the debonair and dastardly Count Fosco, but he‘s already been feted for his devilry, so I‘m going to choose the lovely and lethal Lydia Gwilt from Wilkie Collin‘s Armadale for my #villain. She‘s smart, beautiful, charming, and ruthlessly manipulative. Even as she smiles seductively, she‘s plotting murder. Collins still manages to make her well-rounded and even sympathetic at times.
#litsyclassics

On this day in 1824 Wilkie Collins was born. ‘The books- the generous friends who met me without suspicion- the merciful masters who never used me ill!‘

Wilkie Collins sure could spin a good yarn. The twists, the turns, the suspense, the sheer amount and varieties of crime in this story! A result of serialisation, but I never felt that any part was just filler to drag things out. And such characters! No one writes a villain like Wilkie. I rooted for all sides and couldn't even decide if I wanted a happy ending or tragedy. I was happy to just go wherever the journey led. ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ❤️

Ah, the Victorian era, where modesty and propriety left women of the middle class no activity outside of the home except for going to church on Sunday, and accepting the occasional guided tour of private sanatoriums.

Poor man. His dress sense is so bad that when he tries to look his best ever, "He was an object to laugh at; he was an object to weep over. His enemies, if a creature so wretched could have had enemies, would have forgiven him, on seeing him in his new dress. His friends - had any of his friends been left - would have been less distressed if they had looked at him in his coffin than if they had looked at him as he was now."

Do you ever want to climb into a book so that you can grab a character by the collar and yell, "You are right! You're right in your suspicions, but your reaction is ALL WRONG!Get a grip before it's too late!"

Because I really have that urge right now.

Oh, young love. Or at least, young flirtation. In that early stage before gazing endlessly into each other's eyes, one gives one's attention to the ground. 😂

😂
Victorian marriages must have been dreary affairs!

Wilkie Collins writes such marvellous villains! It's hard not to root for them, at least a little bit.

Cheerful place... 😏

😂 Or is it reversed psychology? After all, if you call yourself John Smith everyone will suspect it's an alias. 🤔

The books - the generous friends who met me without suspicion - the merciful masters who never used me ill!