12 h 34 minAudiobook6 minSummaryRead it, hear it, the 15-minute summary, and print and large print at costPaperback · 6 × 9 in · printing soonHardcover · 6 × 9 in · printing soonAbout this book
When desire enters a family home, who pays the price—and who decides where a child belongs?
Herbert Linley, his wife, and their young daughter Kitty live in the comfortable world of England’s middle and upper classes. Then Sydney Westerfield arrives as a governess, bringing desire into the household. In The Evil Genius, Wilkie Collins turns a marriage under strain into a story of divided loyalties, where private choices threaten more than the people who make them.
Marriage, separation, and the custody of a child bring English law into the heart of this family’s crisis. Collins explores what husbands, wives, and mothers can claim—and what duty demands when the heart pulls elsewhere. This is a domestic novel with a social purpose, asking whether anyone can follow duty or desire without causing harm to others.
What you’ll discover
- A household under strain Enter a comfortable family home where a tested marriage draws others into its troubles.
- The governess at the center Meet Sydney Westerfield, whose arrival brings desire into the Linley household.
- A child’s place See how Kitty’s custody makes a family conflict a question of legal power.
- Duty against desire Consider what happens when following the heart threatens obligations to those closest to you.
- Law behind closed doors Explore how Victorian rules shape the choices of husbands, wives, and mothers.
Who will love it
Readers who love Victorian domestic drama, sharp comic portraits, courtroom and family dilemmas, and stories where a strong-willed mother, a loyal child and a lively old schemer carry the plot.
What’s inside
The key ideas, in the 15-minute summary
- A trial and a cipher start everything
- A neglected child is sent away
- A kind stranger offers a new life
- Mount Morven opens its arms to Sydney
- One night in the garden changes everything
- Mrs. Presty stirs up the family storm
- A child's illness calls the governess back
- Divorce, flight and a false name
- What the story asks about forgiveness
Who’s who
- Sydney WesterfieldA neglected, grateful young governess who wants kindness and a place to belong.
- Herbert LinleyThe kindly master of Mount Morven, devoted to his wife and child but weak in character.
- Catherine LinleyHerbert's gentle wife, who shows a hidden firmness when her child's future is at stake.
- Mrs. PrestyCatherine's overbearing mother, who meddles constantly and always believes she knows best.
- KittyThe Linleys' spoiled, clever little daughter who adores her governess and asks awkward questions.
- Randal LinleyHerbert's modest, honest brother, loved by all and loyal to everyone in the family.
- Mr. SarrazinCatherine's cheerful, food-loving lawyer, who is half French and quick to help.
- Captain BennydeckA devout former naval officer and Arctic survivor who runs a Home for penitent women.
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Der böse Genius in 25 languages, side by side, paragraph by paragraph, once the book texts are online: the way to learn a language with a book you love.
Der böse Genius
by Wilkie Collins · 1886
A neglected girl becomes a governess, and the mother of her pupil must decide what a marriage is worth.
Medium level10–20 hours to read25 languages
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In short
A jury room full of hungry, fidgety, sleepy men decides the fate of a ship's captain, and a dying man hides a cipher in a trunk lining. So opens The Evil Genius by Wilkie Collins, a novel of marriage, divorce and a child caught in between.
From the 15-minute summary · Key idea 1
A trial and a cipher start everything
The book opens with a comic jury trying Captain Roderick Westerfield for wrecking his ship and stealing diamonds. The silent juryman settles the verdict with a single word, and the captain dies of heart disease before sentence.
His wife finds a letter hidden in his trunk. It says the dead second mate confessed to the crime and left a cipher marking where the diamonds lie. She means to find them.
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What is The Evil Genius about?
It follows a neglected girl who becomes a governess in a Scottish household. Her presence leads to a scandal, a divorce and a fight over a child, while a comic grandmother schemes in the background.
Who is the evil genius in the book?
Mrs. Presty first applies the name to Sydney Westerfield, whom she distrusts. Randal also thinks the name suits Mrs. Presty and her meddling.
Is The Evil Genius a true story?
No, it is a novel by Wilkie Collins. It explores marriage and divorce, including differences between Scottish and English divorce law.
The author
Wilkie Collins
1824–1889 · English mystery novelist
Wilkie Collins was a British novelist and playwright born in London in 1824. He lived mainly in London and died there in 1889. His novels include The Woman in White (1859–1860), The Moonstone (1868), The Law and the Lady (1875), and The Black Robe (1881).
More by Wilkie Collins
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