16 h 27 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
One strange bed, one buried family burden, one hidden crime: ordinary lives turn toward danger.
In The Queen of Hearts, Wilkie Collins gathers romantic and mysterious tales within a family circle. Three elderly brothers tell stories to keep a young guest with them. Each evening opens another door: onto London streets, the English countryside, or foreign cities where visitors face dangers they do not understand.
A Terribly Strange Bed draws a traveller toward danger in an unfamiliar house. Mad Monkton explores inheritance, family pride and the pull of the past. In Anne Rodway, a poor London needlewoman follows grief and stubborn care into a search for truth. Alongside these mysteries, love stories test duty, trust and the cost of keeping a promise.
What you’ll discover
- An evening of stories Settle into a family gathering where each new tale changes the mood.
- Danger far from home Follow travellers whose unfamiliar surroundings turn a simple visit into a source of fear.
- The past presses close Explore old family burdens, where inheritance and pride give the past a troubling hold.
- A needlewoman seeks truth Meet Anne Rodway, whose grief and stubborn care draw her into the search for truth.
- Promises under pressure Discover romances where marriage, duty and hidden truths make loyalty a difficult choice.
Is it for you?
This book suits readers who like Victorian suspense, ghost stories and early detective tales, and who want short pieces they can read one at a time. It may be less suited to anyone who wants a single long plot with one set of characters.
What’s inside
The key ideas, in the 15-minute summary
- A family circle gathers to tell stories
- A young man meets danger in a strange house
- Old families carry strange burdens
- Ordinary people uncover crime
- Love, loyalty and hard choices
- How Collins builds a short tale
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- Audiobook
- 16 h 27 min, complete, read by Lucas Linden.
- 15-minute summary
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- Paperback
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- Hardcover
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- 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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The Queen of Hearts
by Wilkie Collins· 1859
A family shares tales of love, crime and strange events.
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Language: English
From the 15-minute summary · Key idea 1 of 6
A family circle gathers to tell stories
The book begins from a simple idea. Three elderly brothers arrange an evening of stories to keep a young guest with them, and each evening brings a new tale. Victorian readers knew this habit well. Families read aloud and swapped stories, and magazines were written with that kind of listening in mind.
The frame matters because it sets the tone. Each storyteller has a different temper, so the tales change from romantic to eerie to sharp and comic. A listener never knows quite what the next teller will offer. That surprise keeps the book moving even though the tales are separate.
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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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Questions about The Queen of Hearts
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Can my family read too?
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What is The Queen of Hearts by Wilkie Collins about?
It is a collection of short tales published in 1859. They include stories of mystery, fear, crime and love, joined by a frame in which members of a family tell stories to one another.
When was The Queen of Hearts written?
It was published in 1859, when Collins was writing for Victorian magazines. Many of the tales had a first life in periodicals before they were gathered into a book.
Is The Queen of Hearts a ghost story collection?
Not only. Some tales have an eerie feeling, but others are detective stories, comic pieces or romances. The mix is part of what makes the book varied.
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