The Evil Genius
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The story is motivated by the attraction between Herbert Linley and the woman he hires as governess for his child Kitty—the long suffering Sydney Westerfield. As one expects with Collins, the story is driven forward with deft assurance. Yet he also treats the theme of adultery and divorce in a manner quite unconventional for his time—and, remarkably, he manages to draw readers into a sympathetic understanding of both of the main female characters: the offending governess and the aggrieved wife.
The Evil Genius was a very considerable success when first published; indeed, it brought Collins more financially than any of his other works. Over a century later its sinews retain the strength to speak powerfully to the reader; lively and intelligent, it is perhaps the finest of Collins’ later novels.
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Graham Law is an associate professor of English Studies at Waseda University, Japan, and the author of Reading Contemporary English Fiction. He has also written extensively on nineteenth-century suspense novels and is the editor of two other Broadview Literary Texts editions: Hard Times and Great Expectations (with Adrian Pinnington).
