Nine O' Clock - Collins, Wilkie

. .

Résumé :
Nine O' Clock (1852) is a novel by Wilkie Collins. Written in the aftermath of Antonina (1850), his successful debut, Nine O' Clock finds the author honing the trademark sense of mystery and psychological unease that would make him a household name around the world. Recognized as an important Victorian novelist and pioneer of detective fiction, Wilkie Collins was a writer with a gift for thoughtful entertainment, stories written for a popular audience that continue to resonate with scholars and readers today. At the height of the French Revolution, a group of prisoners awaiting execution is given the chance at one last night with friends and family. Elated, they feast and drink with their loved ones, exchanging stories of the past and even cracking jokes on the infamous guillotine, the very instrument of death they will face in the morning. Despite this general sense of hopeless joy, one man, Duprat, avoids the trend toward gallows humor, refusing to speak on the subject. Pressed by his friend Marginy, however, a change comes over Duprat, who begins to reveal a strange foresight of his own impending doom. Beyond its sensational plot, Nine O' Clock is a masterpiece of Gothic horror and mystery for seasoned readers of Victorian fiction and newcomers alike. This edition of Wilkie Collins' Nine O' Clock is a classic work of English literature reimagined for modern readers. Since our inception in 2020, Mint Editions has kept sustainability and innovation at the forefront of our mission. Each and every Mint Edition title gets a fresh, professionally typeset manuscript and a dazzling new cover, all while maintaining the integrity of the original book. With thousands of titles in our collection, we aim to spotlight diverse public domain works to help them find modern audiences. Mint Editions celebrates a breadth of literary works, curated from both canonical and overlooked classics from writers around the globe....

Biographie:
William Wilkie Collins (1824 - 1889) was an English novelist, playwright and short story writer. His best-known works are The Woman in White (1859), No Name (1862), Armadale (1866) and The Moonstone (1868). The last is considered the first modern English detective novel. Born into the family of painter William Collins in London, he lived with his family in Italy and France as a child and learned French and Italian. After his first novel, Antonina, was published in 1850, he met Charles Dickens, who became a close friend, mentor and collaborator. Some of Collins's works were first published in Dickens' journals All the Year Round and Household Words and the two collaborated on drama and fiction. Collins was critical of the institution of marriage and never married; he split his time between Caroline Graves, except for a two-year separation, and his common-law wife Martha Rudd, with whom he had three children.