The Law and the Lady
by Wilkie Collins
Valeria Woodville's first act as a married woman is to falsely sign her name in the marriage register, and this mistake is followed by the gradual disclosure of a series of secrets about her husband's previous life, each of which leads to a different set of questions and riddles. Her discoveries encourage her to challenge her husband's authority, leading the law to a labyrinth of false clues and misleading identities; here the study of the convoluted work of the mind is associated with the exploration of masquerade balls of femininity. Probably the first feature novel in which a female detective appears as the protagonist "Law and lady" is a fascinating example of Collins' later fiction. It uses many of the techniques used in Moonstone, first published in 1875, improves on them in bizarre and unexpected ways, and in its Gothic and fantastical elements, The Law and the Lady adds an important dimension to the history of detective fiction.
