Publisher's Synopsis
Poor Miss Finch: A Domestic Story is a novel written by Wilkie Collins. It tells the story of a young woman named Lucilla Finch who is blind and lives with her two half-siblings, Oscar and Nugent Dubourg. Lucilla is engaged to Oscar, but Nugent is secretly in love with her. The story takes a dramatic turn when Lucilla undergoes a risky operation to restore her sight, which ultimately leads to a series of unexpected events and revelations. Along the way, the novel explores themes of love, jealousy, deception, and the complexities of human relationships. With its intricate plot and well-drawn characters, Poor Miss Finch is a classic work of Victorian literature that continues to captivate readers today.1908. A close friend of Charles Dickens, Collins is one of the most readable of the Victorian novelists and some critics credit him with the invention of Sensation/Detective novels. Lucilla Finch, who has been blind since early childhood, falls in love with Oscar Dubourg. After a head injury, Oscar develops epilepsy, and then turns blue from the treatment. Lucilla harbors an irrational hatred of dark colors, including dark skin; so, Oscar devises to hide his blueness from Lucilla until after their marriage. When his twin brother visits, Oscar tells Lucilla that Nugent is the blue man, a deception that backfires when Nugent-who has fallen in love with Lucilla himself-brings in Herr Grosse, an oculist who cures Lucilla's blindness. Her first vision is of Nugent, who sabotages Oscar by assuming his identity and making it impossible for Oscar to reveal the truth. Oscar goes abroad, becoming a nurse, but returns in time to rescue Lucilla-who is blind again-from marrying Nugent. After the brothers reconcile, Lucilla and Oscar marry and have two children; Nugent freezes to death during an Arctic expedition. See other titles by this author available from Kessinger Publishing.This scarce antiquarian book is a facsimile reprint of the old original and may contain some imperfections such as library marks and notations. Because we believe this work is culturally important, we have made it available as part of our commitment for protecting, preserving, and promoting the world's literature in affordable, high quality, modern editions, that are true to their original work.