13 h 32 minAudiobook2 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
Must a daughter answer for her mother's crime—or can she escape the verdict written into her family name?
In Wilkie Collins's The Legacy of Cain, a woman condemned to death leaves behind a young daughter. Mr. Gracedieu, a clergyman, raises the child alongside his own daughter. Eunice and Helena grow up as sisters, while the question of inherited evil hangs over the household: does blood determine character?
As the sisters enter adulthood, love, jealousy, and rivalry test their loyalty. Their own writing joins accounts from older people who believe they understand them. Each perspective invites you to weigh feeling against judgment, as a troubling argument about parentage becomes an intimate struggle within the family.
What you’ll discover
- An innocent child's burden Feel the injustice of a mother's crime casting its shadow over her daughter's life.
- Sisters under pressure Follow Eunice and Helena as love and jealousy strain the bond of their shared upbringing.
- Voices that invite doubt Weigh the young women's words against older observers who trust their own judgments.
- Blood against choice Consider whether cruelty belongs to inheritance, or whether upbringing and personal decisions matter more.
- The shadow of Cain Explore a sibling rivalry whose biblical echo sharpens the novel's unsettling question about family origins.
Who will love it
For readers who love Victorian family secrets, rival sisters, and suspense built around a troubling moral question about inherited evil, upbringing, and personal choice.
What’s inside
Formats and delivery
- eBook
- On your phone, tablet, computer or Kindle, with the type as large as you like.
- Large-print eBook
- The same book in bigger, clearer type, from the first page.
- Audiobook
- 13 h 32 min, complete, read by Lucas Linden.
- 15-minute summary
- The key ideas in about 2 minutes, to read or to hear.
- 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
- 8.5 × 11 in. Printing soon: leave your email under Paperback or Hardcover above.
- Large print hardcover
- 8.5 × 11 in. Printing soon: leave your email under Paperback or Hardcover above.
eBooks and audiobooks open right away. Download EPUB or PDF, or send the book to your Kindle. Every printed copy is made when you order it and shipped worldwide; shipping is shown at checkout.
How it works
- Start free. Nothing to pay today; the eBook of this book is yours to keep.
- Read, listen and print. 200,000+ classics as eBook, large-print eBook, audiobook and 15-minute summary, and any book printed at cost as a paperback, hardcover or large print, 5 accounts for the price of one.
- We remind you first. Free for 3 months, and we email you 7 days before your first payment. Then 0,14 USD a day in your first year on the yearly plan and 0,27 USD a day after, or 0,66 USD a day on the monthly plan. Cancel online in two clicks.
Bought on its own? Every eBook, audiobook and printed book you buy without the plan carries our 30-day money-back guarantee.
25 languages, side by side
Read and hear L’Héritage de Caïn in 25 languages and switch at any time. Or read two side by side, paragraph by paragraph: the way to learn a language with a book you love.
L’Héritage de Caïn
by Wilkie Collins · 1888
Two daughters grow up in one household, where a secret of murder puts love, judgment, and trust at stake.
Medium level10–20 hours to read25 languages
Excellent
- Read or listen
- 25 languages, side by side
- Print and large print at cost
- 5 accounts for the price of one
Free for 3 months · starts right away, on any device
Read free3 months free · cancel anytimeFree for 3 months, then 0,14 USD a dayCancel anytimeHow it works
From the 15-minute summary · Key idea 1
A woman condemned to death leaves behind a young daughter. Her crime raises a question that reaches beyond the prison: must an innocent child carry her mother's moral stain? A prison governor takes an interest in the girl's future, while a clergyman offers her a place in his family. The adoption gives the child a home, but it does not settle the fears surrounding her birth.
Free for 3 months · Cancel anytime
Free gifts
580 USD in free gifts when you start
Every book in every format and in 25 languages, 5 accounts for the price of one. Nothing to pay today.
- 200,000+ classic eBooksIn 25 languages, side by side
170 USDFREE - Every audiobookIn 25 languages, any device
120 USDFREE - 15-minute summariesRead or listen, in 25 languages
60 USDFREE - Print at cost, no markupPaperback, hardcover, large print
60 USDFREE - 5 accounts for the price of oneA shelf for everyone at home
170 USDFREE - A part in rebuilding the libraryNew languages and books for all
FREE
Questions about L’Héritage de Caïn
Can I read it free?
Yes. The first key idea of the 15-minute summary is free with no sign-up. Start free and the whole book is yours for 3 months, with the eBook to keep, plus 200,000+ more classics and any book printed at cost as a paperback, hardcover or large print. Nothing to pay today: we email you 7 days before your first payment, and you can cancel online in two clicks.
Can I buy the printed book?
Soon. The paperback, hardcover and large print editions are being prepared. Choose Paperback or Hardcover above, leave your email, and we tell you the day you can order it, printed at cost.
How many accounts do I get?
Five, for the price of one: you and 4 more people, each with their own login, shelf and their own place in every book.
Can I cancel anytime?
Yes. Cancel online in two clicks at any time and nothing more is charged. Nothing is charged in your first 3 months, and we email you 7 days before your first payment.
What is The Legacy of Cain about?
The Legacy of Cain follows two young women raised in the same family, one adopted after her mother is condemned for murder. Their rivalry in love tests the adults' beliefs about whether character comes from birth, upbringing, or individual choice.
Who are the two daughters in The Legacy of Cain?
Eunice and Helena grow up as sisters in the household of Mr. Gracedieu, a clergyman. One is his biological daughter; the other is the child he adopts from a condemned woman. Their family history is central to the novel's suspense.
What does the title The Legacy of Cain mean?
The title refers to Cain, who kills his brother Abel in the Bible. It links conflict between siblings with the idea of a legacy of violence, while questioning whether wrongdoing can truly pass from parent to child.
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
All 15 books
More like this
Free
Free
Free
Our mission
The library burned once. We are building it back.
Every great book, in every language and every format, for every family. Every plan helps pay for new languages, new audiobooks and books for readers who have never had them. Join the movement.
Read our story- Every language25 languages today, side by side, and more every year
- No wastePrinted on demand: no warehouses, no unsold stock, no pulped copies
- For everyonePaperback, hardcover and large print at the cost of printing
Popular in mystery and crime
See all
Free
Free
