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Wilkie Collins

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A House to Let (Christmas Series) Kindle Edition

by Charles Dickens (Author), Wilkie Collins (Author), Elizabeth Gaskell (Author), Format: Kindle Edition

4.1 355 ratings

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In this short story by four great Victorian authors, a woman’s fascination with an abandoned house reveals mystery and intrigue within.

Written by Charles Dickens, Wilkie Collins, Elizabeth Gaskell, and Adelaide Anne Procter, “A House to Let” tells the story of an elderly woman who moves to London for a change of scenery. Fascinated by signs of life emanating from a supposedly abandoned house, she entreats two rival helpers to investigate. On their journey to uncovering the truth, they return to their mistress with competing tales of men lost at sea, bizarre circus performers, forged death certificates, and more.

Print length

156 pages
Language

English
Sticky notes

On Kindle Scribe
Publisher

Open Road Media
Publication date

November 29, 2022
File size

1403 KB
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Editorial Reviews

Review

Compiled by Charles Dickens, and including chapters by Elizabeth Gaskell and Wilkie Collins, A House to Let is a composite tale of mystery and intrigue set amid the dark streets of Victorian London. --This text refers to an alternate kindle_edition edition.

From the Publisher

Hesperus Press, as suggested by their Latin motto, Et remotissima prope, is dedicated to bringing near what is far—far both in space and time. Works by illustrious authors, often unjustly neglected or simply little known in the English–speaking world, are made accessible through a completely fresh editorial approach and new translations.

Through these classic works, which feature forewords by leading contemporary authors, the modern reader will be introduced to the greatest writers of Europe and America. An elegantly designed series of genuine rediscoveries.

--This text refers to an alternate kindle_edition edition.

Product details

ASIN ‏ : ‎ B0BM432XT6
Publisher ‏ : ‎ Open Road Media (November 29, 2022)
Publication date ‏ : ‎ November 29, 2022
Language ‏ : ‎ English
File size ‏ : ‎ 1403 KB
Text-to-Speech ‏ : ‎ Enabled
Screen Reader ‏ : ‎ Supported
Enhanced typesetting ‏ : ‎ Enabled
X-Ray ‏ : ‎ Not Enabled
Word Wise ‏ : ‎ Enabled
Sticky notes ‏ : ‎ On Kindle Scribe
Print length ‏ : ‎ 156 pages

Best Sellers Rank: #1,814,279 in Kindle Store (See Top 100 in Kindle Store)
- #4,125 in Historical Thrillers (Kindle Store)
- #5,326 in Fiction Anthologies
- #8,607 in Literary Anthologies & Collections

Customer Reviews:
4.1 355 ratings

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Wilkie Collins

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William Wilkie Collins (8 January 1824 – 23 September 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), 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. He worked as a clerk for a tea merchant. After his first novel Antonina was published in 1850, he met Charles Dickens, who became a close friend, mentor and collaborator. Some of Collins' works were first published in Dickens' journals All the Year Round and Household Words and the two collaborated on dramatic and fictional works.

Collins published his best known works in the 1860s, achieved financial stability and an international reputation. During this time he began suffering from gout took opium for pain and developed an addiction. During the 1870s and '80s the quality of his writing declined along with his health.

Collins was critical of the institution of marriage and never married; he split his time between Caroline Graves except for a 2 year separation, and his common law wife Martha Rudd with whom he had 3 children.

Bio from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. Photo by Elliott & Fry [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons.

Customer reviews

4.1 out of 5

355 global ratings

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Diana S. Long

Four writers collaboration

Reviewed in the United States on June 9, 2015

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A collaboration of authors Wilkie Collins, Charles Dickens, Elizabeth Gaskill and Adelaide Ann Proctor. A short story that is a somewhat humorous mystery which I found especially entertaining. The story starts with a spinster who rents lodgings across the street from a house to let which is never let and has remained for some years in this state. She becomes obsessed with this house and it's past history and with the help of a relentless suitor and servant discovers much about the former tenants. I would have loved to be in on the discussions this group might have had over tea. Highly recommend this work.

6 people found this helpful

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Israel Drazin

A collaborative work by Victorian writers

Reviewed in the United States on September 18, 2013

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A House to Let
By Charles Dickens, Wilkie Collins, Elizabeth Gaskell, and Ann Procter

This free book - free because its copyright has expired, and it can be acquired at no cost from amazon and similar sources - is a collaborative writing by four Victorian writers (I read novels by three of them and liked them, but never heard of Ann Procter) and, as a result of it being a collaboration, the novel has several styles: a part is humorous, while others are gothic, suspenseful, or melodramatic.

The frame of the story, in which four tales are told, focuses on an elderly woman who was advised by her doctor to rent an apartment in London. She finds a very suitable place, but opposite her flat is a dilapidated house with a sign "To Let." But the house is never rented; some people tell her it hasn't been rented for as long as five or ten years. Twice when she looked at the house she saw an eye looking at her. She becomes very curious. She wants to know why the house hasn't been rented, why it is run down, what is the eye - in short: what is its history and what is going on now. Two people, each antagonistic to the other, but both fond of her, investigate for her and come back with four stories.

The first is a drama of rather wealthy people who lived in the house sometime in the past. They do something that causes some of them enormous unresolved feelings of grief.

The second is about lower class people told in a humorous fashion, about a dwarf who wins an enormous sum of money in a lottery, who leaves his job to enter wealthy society, but returns to the house sorely disappointed.

The third report is a poem that one of the two men finds. It tells of a woman who devoted her life to her brother, giving up her own possibility for happiness, including a chance marry, and finds she made a mistake.

None of these past incidences in the house explains the house's current situation. So one of the two men visits it. What he finds is startling and quite melodramatic!

While the novel as a whole is interesting, it does not pull the four tales together other than to tell us that the house has a tragic history of sorrow. I had the feeling that Dickens, who was not only an extremely gifted writer, but a good hand at securing money, gathered his friend together for a financial writing enterprise, but didn't do an adequate job at editing to pull the stories together and to give them a twist that does not appear in the writings of others. But, this is only a minor problem, and I think readers will enjoy the tale.

9 people found this helpful

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Jonesy

Don't bother reading this one.

Reviewed in the United States on September 25, 2017

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This has to be one of his worst. I have read and enjoyed Wilkie Collins's novels and short stories, but I believe this was written by a team of writers, each taking a chapter, and it didn't work. If not, there is not excuse for it.

One person found this helpful

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JBR Sales

Great read that is clean as well as interesting.

Reviewed in the United States on June 4, 2018

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I greatly enjoyed A House to Let . The way the old book authors create stories that draw you in and grab your interest without using the vulgarity and shock effects employed by modern writers is what keeps me coming back for more of books like this one. A good read indeed!

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Harrison Wein

Minor work by major authors

Reviewed in the United States on January 19, 2005

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This short, quick read is a collaborative effort led by Charles Dickens with contributions by Wilkie Collins, Elizabeth Gaskell and the poet Adelaide Anne Procter. The premise is that an elderly woman moves to London and, after seeing an eye peeking out from the window of a supposedly empty house across the street, becomes obsessed with the place. Her long-time suitor and her servant both set to work trying to outdo each other in discovering the mystery of this house to let. They uncover the stories of several former occupants, all of which are enjoyable; Gaskell's contribution, "A Manchester Marriage," is outstanding. Overall, however, "A House to Let" amounts to a collection of short stories loosely strung together. They are very well-written and are certainly worth the time if you like these authors, but this book isn't quite in the same league as the major works of these authors.

12 people found this helpful

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D. Leaym

Mystery before our modern age ruined it

Reviewed in the United States on February 29, 2016

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I'm a fan of Wilkie Collins and loved this book. It's a quick read and helped me pass an afternoon while deployed. For those who have deployed with the military books are essential when you get down time and the free ebooks for Kindle are a life saver.

This was a classic Victorian mystery novel and I highly recommend.

Reviewed in the United States on February 28, 2014

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A charming story with four different approaches to a mystery shadowing a house that no one wants to let. The final "job" that the house does is such a good end to a good read. The specific styles of the four story-tellers give a good overview of how writers wrote in the past. Without any profanity. With true skill.

One person found this helpful

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L. T.

Strange story

Reviewed in the United States on December 19, 2013

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It took quite awhile to figure out the story and it was kind of a disappoointment as a mystery when I finally did get it sorted out. If you are into historical (not about history, but old fashioned) writing, you may find it of interest.

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Lala57

Perfecto, justo lo que necesitaba a un precio inmejorable.

Reviewed in Spain on November 11, 2023

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Compré este libro porque su contenido. Describe escenas costumbristas. A pesar de su mediocridad Dickens escribía relatos para la prensa. Conectores, adverbios, giros lingüísticos empleados en cada concreto contexto.

Valoro positivamente la edición. Es un libro subrayable: sin índice, prólogo ni ilustraciones, papel grueso no satinado. Es un libro para aprender inglés.

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Jem

Great stories, well presented

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on April 27, 2017

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I love these Hesperus editions - I have been reading one a year every Christmas for a while now.
If you are new to them, I'd start with 'A Round of Stories by the Christmas Fire' and move chronologically onward from there. Some are better than others, but I haven't been disappointed yet.