Summary
Summary of Blind Love
Key ideas
Key idea 1
Love puts conscience at risk
Iris Henley loves Lord Harry, the wandering Irish nobleman she is forbidden to marry. His past includes gambling and a string of restless occupations, but she sees more than his faults. Around her are Hugh Mountjoy, a faithful friend, the scheming doctor Vimpany, and a maid with a hidden past.
Their story moves through England, Ireland and France, following secret letters, disguises and watchers. Beneath the suspense lies a personal question: how far can love lead an honest woman toward conduct she would otherwise reject?
Key idea 2
Fear turns a warning into betrayal
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Key idea 3
Iris risks herself at the milestone
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Key idea 4
A warning cannot quiet the danger
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Key idea 5
Forgiveness survives another deception
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Key idea 6
Pity carries Iris into marriage
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Key idea 7
Debt and jealousy tighten the trap
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Key idea 8
Fanny watches as danger enters
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Key idea 9
Loyalty offers a counterweight to blindness
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The rest of the summary, written and spoken, and the whole book: free to start.
Read the rest freeWho it’s for
Readers who like Victorian sensation fiction, plots full of letters, disguises and secrets, and a heroine whose heart pulls against her judgment. Fans of Collins who enjoy a scheming villain and a devoted maid will feel at home.
What this book is
Blind Love is the last novel of Wilkie Collins, who died in 1889 with the book unfinished. Walter Besant completed it from the author's notes. It opens in Ireland in 1881, in the years of the Land League and of secret societies sworn to assassination. It then follows a young Englishwoman across England, Ireland and France.
The heroine is Iris Henley, a woman of quick feeling who loves the one man she is forbidden to marry. He is Lord Harry, a wandering Irish nobleman who has been a sailor, an actor, a medium and a gambler. Around her stand a faithful friend, Hugh Mountjoy, a scheming doctor named Vimpany, and a maid with a hidden past.
You get a thriller built on disguise, secret letters, watchers and a plan that grows darker with each chapter. Collins also asks how far a good woman can be led by love. The story begins with a strange letter, a broken teacup behind a milestone and a night on a dark Irish road.
In this summary
- 1A teacup, a milestone and a letterFree
- 2Iris arrives and the trap is laid
- 3The milestone at night
- 4Warnings, a ruin and a riderless horse
- 5The sour wine and the doctor's house
- 6The spy unmasked and the parting in Passy
- 7A new maid, a razor and a quarrel with a father
- 8Paris, a jealous husband and a plot of paper
- 9The Dane, the hidden maid and what the story is about
Key point 1 of 9
A teacup, a milestone and a letter
The story opens in 1881 in the Irish town of Ardoon. Sir Giles Mountjoy, a knighted banker, wakes to find an unsigned letter on his table. It claims to concern someone in his own family and sets him two tests. His head clerk, Dennis Howmore, must find a piece of broken teacup behind the first milestone on the road to Garvan.
The second test sends the clerk to the Reading Rooms. There he must look in the third volume of Gibbon for a sheet of paper punched with tiny holes. Dennis takes the sheet to a journalist friend, who explains that it is a key to a cipher. A second letter arrives, written in muddled words, and the holes make it readable.
The sentences, once read, thank Sir Giles for his good faith and beg him to wait. They also warn him not to seek the police. Dennis believes the writer is trying to save the banker's nephew Arthur, who is farming an evicted farm in Kerry and is being boycotted by his neighbours. Sir Giles is vain and timid. He is certain that a plot against his own life is under way.
He overrules his clerk and calls in the police. The scene sets the tone for the whole book, with its comedy, its fear and a pride that blinds.
That’s 1 of 9 key points.
The rest of the summary, written and spoken, and the whole book: free to start.
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Check yourself
Why does Iris decide to marry Harry after finding him wounded?
Right. “Pity has made her give up her good sense.”Not quite. “Pity has made her give up her good sense.”
What does Hugh discover about Mrs. Vimpany's relationship with Iris?
Right. “The doctor grows drunk, boasts of his wife's old stage career and lets slip that she has been paid to keep watch over Iris for Lord Harry.”Not quite. “The doctor grows drunk, boasts of his wife's old stage career and lets slip that she has been paid to keep watch over Iris for Lord Harry.”
Why does Fanny offer to nurse Oxbye?
Right. “She then offers to nurse the patient so that she may watch, and he accepts her.”Not quite. “She then offers to nurse the patient so that she may watch, and he accepts her.”
About this edition
Every format is free to start, and print and large print are at cost.
- LengthAbout 133,000 words
- Reading timeAbout 8 h 50 min
- Listening time14 h 45 min
- FormatseBook, large-print eBook, audiobook, 15-minute summary
- LanguagesEnglish and 10 other languages
Questions about Blind Love
What is Blind Love by Wilkie Collins about?
It follows Iris Henley, who loves Lord Harry, a reckless Irish nobleman. Hugh Mountjoy, Fanny Mere and the scheming Dr. Vimpany all shape her fate as secret societies, debts and a cunning plan close in.
Who are the Invincibles in Blind Love?
They are a secret society of Irish assassins in the story. They stand behind the murder in the prologue and hang over Lord Harry, who once joined them and then broke away.
Is Blind Love easy to follow?
It has a clear storyline with short chapters, many vivid scenes and plenty of dialogue. Letters and secrets keep the plot moving, and the large cast is easy to tell apart.
Who is Fanny Mere in Blind Love?
Fanny is Iris's pale, quiet maid. She was dismissed from an earlier post and is saved by her new mistress. She repays her with fierce loyalty and uses her hidden knowledge of French.
