Призрак замка

by Wilkie Collins, Washington Irving, Edgar Allan Poe

Истории от прославленных классиков жанра!

«Призрак Оперы» Что-то странное творится в театре: падают декорации, срываются люстры... Говорят, всему виной обитающий здесь призрак. Однажды он заманивает очаровательную певицу в свое логово.
«Талисман мумии» По легенде, египетская царица добровольно ушла из жизни, чтобы воскреснуть через века...
«Топор с посеребренной рукояткой» Обладатель проклятого топора обречен убивать снова и снова...

816 pages, Paperback

Published August 14, 2015

About the author

Wilkie Collins was an English novelist and playwright, best known for The Woman in White (1860), an early sensation novel, and The Moonstone (1868), a pioneering work of detective fiction. Born to landscape painter William Collins and Harriet Geddes, he spent part of his childhood in Italy and France, learning both languages. Initially working as a tea merchant, he later studied law, though he never practiced. His literary career began with Antonina (1850), and a meeting with Charles Dickens in 1851 proved pivotal. The two became close friends and collaborators, with Collins contributing to Dickens' journals and co-writing dramatic works.
Collins' success peaked in the 1860s with novels that combined suspense with social critique, including No Name (1862), Armadale (1864), and The Moonstone, which established key elements of the modern detective story. His personal life was unconventional—he openly opposed marriage and lived with Caroline Graves and her daughter for much of his life, while also maintaining a separate relationship with Martha Rudd, with whom he had three children.
Plagued by gout, Collins became addicted to laudanum, which affected both his health and later works. Despite declining quality in his writing, he remained a respected figure, mentoring younger authors and advocating for writers' rights. He died in 1889 and was buried in Kensal Green Cemetery. His legacy endures through his influential novels, which laid the groundwork for both sensation fiction and detective literature.