The Law and the Lady

William Wilkie Collins (1824-1889) was an English novelist and playwright, best known for The Woman in White and The Moonstone. A less sensational detective story is The Law and the Lady, in which new bride Valeria soon suspects her husband of having a secret past and a false identity. The novel attacks the Scottish Not Proven verdict, and is an early example of a female sleuth, a determined and resourceful woman who retains the initiative throughout.