12 h 9 minAudiobook7 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
What if the man offering peace to your conscience has plans for everything you own?
In Wilkie Collins’s The Black Robe, Lewis Romayne has wealth, an old estate, and no peace of mind. Guilt weighs on this sensitive Englishman. Father Benwell, a patient and clever Jesuit, sees his chance to bring both Romayne and Vange Abbey into the Catholic Church.
Stella Eyrecourt loves Romayne and wants a safe, happy life with him. But Benwell’s quiet influence puts love and loyalty under pressure. Another priest, Arthur Penrose, offers a sharp contrast through honest faith and compassion. As secrets gather, Collins turns a struggle over conscience into a tale with the pull of a mystery.
What you’ll discover
- A conscience under pressure Follow Romayne’s longing for relief as others seek to direct his troubled conscience.
- A patient power player Watch Father Benwell use sympathy and careful influence to pursue his plans for Romayne.
- Love against quiet designs Meet Stella, whose sincere love faces the pressure of the priest’s patient plans.
- Two sharply different priests Discover how Penrose’s compassion sets his motives apart from Benwell’s calculated pursuit.
- Secrets beneath polite words Feel suspense build as people seem to know more than they choose to say.
Who will love it
This book suits readers who enjoy Victorian plots with moral weight, especially those who like Collins for his suspense and his sharp view of character.
What’s inside
The key ideas, in the 15-minute summary
- A rich man carries a hidden burden
- A Jesuit sees his chance
- Love enters through Stella
- A second priest tests the first
- What the story is really about
- How Collins builds the suspense
Who’s who
- Lewis RomayneA wealthy, sensitive Englishman and owner of Vange Abbey, he is weighed down by guilt and wants peace of mind.
- Father BenwellA patient, clever Jesuit who wants to bring Romayne and his estate into the Church, using sympathy and careful influence.
- Stella EyrecourtA warm, loyal young woman who loves Romayne and wants a safe and happy life with him.
- Arthur PenroseA Catholic priest of honest faith and real compassion, whose motives differ sharply from those of Father Benwell.
- Lord LoringA sensible friend of the household who offers practical judgment and support when trouble gathers around the couple.
- Lady LoringA warm and shrewd friend who stands by Stella and watches the pressures on the marriage.
Formats and delivery
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- Audiobook
- 12 h 9 min, complete, read by Lucas Linden.
- 15-minute summary
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- Paperback
- 6 × 9 in. Printing soon: leave your email under Paperback or Hardcover above.
- Hardcover
- 6 × 9 in. Printing soon: leave your email under Paperback or Hardcover above.
- Large print paperback
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- Large print hardcover
- 8.5 × 11 in. Printing soon: leave your email under Paperback or Hardcover above.
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Die schwarze Robe
by Wilkie Collins· 1881
What if the man offering peace to your conscience has plans for everything you own?
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From the 15-minute summary · Key idea 1 of 6
A rich man carries a hidden burden
The novel begins with Lewis Romayne, an educated and sensitive Englishman who is wealthy and who owns an old estate called Vange Abbey. The abbey was once Church property, taken from the Catholic Church in the sixteenth century and later passed into private hands. That history matters, because it makes the house more than a home. It becomes a prize in a long quarrel between two faiths.
Romayne himself is not at peace. Collins presents him as a man wounded by something in his past, a matter of conscience that weighs on him and shapes his moods. He is intelligent, but he is also easy to unsettle. A man in that state looks for comfort, and the book is interested in who offers it and at what price.
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What is The Black Robe by Wilkie Collins about?
It tells of Lewis Romayne, a troubled English landowner, and a Jesuit priest who tries to win him and his abbey for the Church. His wife and a second, more honest priest complicate the contest for his conscience.
What does the black robe mean in the title?
It refers to the dress of a Roman Catholic priest. Collins uses it as a symbol of clerical influence, and the novel asks what lies behind that robe in different men.
When was The Black Robe written and published?
Wilkie Collins published it in 1881. It is a work of fiction, but it draws on real Victorian arguments and fears about Catholic conversion and the Jesuits.
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).
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