After Dark

A charmingly inventive frame narrative houses six tales of suspense and adventure in this, Wilkie Collins's first short story collection. When travelling portrait-painter William Kerby loses his sight to a severe eye ailment, he and his wife Leah face six months without income. Leah proposes a solution: William will dictate the stories he's collected over years of painting portraits for strangers, and she will serve as his amanuensis. What follows is a delightful literary gambit, as Collins reveals the origins of these tales and the circumstances under which they were told. The stories range from the macabre thriller of "A Terribly Strange Bed" to the romantic intrigue of "The Yellow Mask," each one revealing the hidden lives and secret dramas of ordinary Victorian travelers. The frame itself is tender, documenting a couple's ingenuity and partnership in the face of financial ruin. Though less famous than Collins's sensation novels, this 1856 collection showcases the plotting mastery that would later produce The Woman in White and The Moonstone. For readers who crave the pleasures of storytelling about storytelling, this is a Victorian treasure.