Basil

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In Basil's secret and unconsummated marriage to the linen-draper's sexually precocious daughter, and the shocking betrayal, insanity, and death that follow, Collins reveals the bustling, commercial London of the nineteenth century wreaking its vengeance on a still powerful aristocratic world. Contemporary reviewers vehemently disapproved of this explicit treatment of adultery; and even today the passionate and lurid atmosphere he creates still has the power to disturb the reader. ABOUT THE SERIES: For over 100 years Oxford World's Classics has made available the widest range of literature from around the globe. Each affordable volume reflects Oxford's commitment to scholarship, providing the most accurate text plus a wealth of other valuable features, including expert introductions by leading authorities, helpful notes to clarify the text, up-to-date bibliographies for further study, and much more.

William Wilkie Collins was an English novelist and playwright best known for The Woman in White (1859), a mystery and early sensation novel, and The Moonstone (1868), which established many of the ground rules of the modern detective novel and may be the first clear example of the police procedural genre. Born to London painter William Collins and his wife, Harriet Geddes, he moved to Italy with them when he was twelve years old, spending two years there and in France learning both Italian and French. Collins was born at 11 New Cavendish Street in London, the son of William Collins, a well-known Royal Academician landscape painter, and his wife, Harriet Geddes. Named after his father, he quickly became recognized by his second name, which honors his godfather, painter David Wilkie. The family relocated to Pond Street, Hampstead, around 1826. In 1828, Collins' brother Charles Allston Collins was born. Between 1829 and 1830, the Collins family relocated twice: first to Hampstead Square and subsequently to Porchester Terrace in Bayswater. Wilkie and Charles received an early education from their mother at home. The Collins family was very religious, and Collins' mother insisted on strict church attendance for her boys, which Wilkie detested.

In BASIL'S secret and unconsummated marriage to Margaret Sherwin, the linen-draper's sexually precocious daughter, and the consequent shocks and horrors of betrayal, insanity, and death, Collins reveals the bustling, commercial London of the first half of the nineteenth century wreaking its vengeance on a still powerful aristocratic world. But although BASIL himself does not recognize them, the story forces other conflicts on the reader's attention-between man's sexual and romantic needs and between men's and women's sexuality.