Happy Public Domain Day 2026! See what new books are free to read this January 1.
Standard Ebooks

The Law and the Lady

Wilkie Collins

Description

The Law and the Lady by Wilkie Collins was published in 1875. As in many of Collins’ novels, it deals with themes considered sensational or scandalous by Victorian society, and features a strong-willed, intelligent woman unwilling to be bound by society’s conventional attitudes. It also treats the subject of disability with some compassion, featuring a man born without legs as a major character.

The novel, told in the first person by a young woman named Valeria Brinton, begins with her wedding to a somewhat older man, Eustace Woodville. After their honeymoon, she accidentally discovers that he has married her under a false name. When she pursues this issue, Eustace leaves her, pleading with her not to follow him or ask for more details. There’s obviously a dark secret in his past, and ignoring his pleas, Valeria pushes on to seek the truth.

Read free

This ebook is thought to be free of copyright restrictions in the United States. It may still be under copyright in other countries. If you’re not located in the United States, you must check your local laws to verify that this ebook is free of copyright restrictions in the country you’re located in before accessing, downloading, or using it.

Download for ereaders

Read online

A brief history of this ebook

  1. Finish metadata and initial publication

  2. Fix typo

  3. Semanticate

  4. Tweak CSS

  5. Remove LoI

More details

Sources

Transcriptions

Page scans

Improve this ebook

Anyone can contribute to make a Standard Ebook better for everyone!

To report typos, typography errors, or other corrections, see how to report errors.

If you’re comfortable with technology and want to contribute directly, check out this ebook’s GitHub repository and our contributors section.

You can also donate to Standard Ebooks to help fund continuing improvement of this and other ebooks.