Wilkie Collins was an English novelist, poet, and playwright writing in the mid 19th century. His writing was very popular consisting of 27 novels, 50 short stories, 15 plays, and over 100 poems. His best-known works were The Woman in White, The Moonstone and Armadale. An excerpt from Jezebel's Daughter reads, "After no very long reflection, I decided that my best course would be to severely caution Joseph, and to say nothing to the partners of what had happened--for the present, at least. I should certainly do mischief, by setting the two old friends at variance again on the subject of the widow, if I spoke; to say nothing (as another result) of the likelihood of Joseph's dismissal by Mr. Keller. Actuated by these reasonable considerations, I am bound frankly to add that I must have felt some vague misgivings as well. Otherwise, why did I carefully examine Mr. Keller's room (before I returned to the theater), without any distinct idea of any conceivable discovery that I might make?"