No Name (Penguin Classics)

(May contain a few spoilers) Wilkie Collins' sensation novel No Name, published in 1862, initially presents itself as a family story, with its secrets quickly revealed. After the sudden death of their parents, two young girls, Norah and Magdalen Vanstone, discover that they were born out of wedlock. Even though Andrew Vanstone and his partner had just regularised their situation, an unfortunate turn of events meant that the couple died intestate. The two sisters are thus deprived of any right to inheritance. Due to past family conflicts, the couple's sole heir — the sisters' paternal uncle — refuses to help Norah and Magdalen and give them their due. They are forced to leave the family home with their governess. The elder sister, Norah, is calm and reasonable, while the younger sister, Magdalen, is lively and impulsive. They are reminiscent of Elinor and Marianne Dashwood, the Austenian heroines of Sense and Sensibility. Set deep in the heart of the Victorian era and its customs and codes, the story of Magdalen — who proves to be more combative and less resigned than her sister, and sets out alone to reclaim her parents' inheritance — quickly turns into a Victorian road movie. Determined to undertake anything, including using her recently acquired thespian skills, and obtain justice and reparation, Magdalen disappears. In York at first, she meets Captain Wragge, a colourful and opportunistic swindler who also may be considered as a very distant relative of her mother's, and his wife, a giantess who does not mean any harm to anyone. Captain Wragge, although a bit mercenary, offers to help her in her quest. What follows is a series of highlights. Throughout the novel, Magdalen assumes several identities. Captain Wragge, with his remarkable ability to adapt to any situation, plays cat and mouse with the heir to the Vanstone fortune, engaging in a figurative chess match with the formidable and cunning Mrs Lecount — a powerful, chilling and clear-sighted manipulator herself. Like a play, this novel is made up of masterful scenes of varying lengths set in different geographical locations. It features a diverse cast of protagonists, all of whom are very well characterised. This breathless thriller reminded me, in a way, of The Count of Monte Cristo, in which the protagonist also disguises himself, metaphorically “dies” and is “born” again, and appears under various aliases in order to obtain justice. But the story, which is about injustice, is above all about the injustices of an era, about its laws, its patterns and codes, its patriarchal values, its stereotypes, which are illustrated very well by the contrast between the two sisters. Norah, the conformist, humbly works and patiently waits for her Prince Charming, who does indeed appear. In contrast, Magdalen is reckless and atypical, with the audacity of a Jean Valjean or an Edmond Dantès. She is unafraid of extreme situations. However, unlike the heroes of Les Misérables and The Count of Monte Cristo, she fails to maintain the illusion until the end. After assuming several different identities, she becomes 'Nobody's Daughter' again, and in the final scene lives up to the title of the novel, 'No Name', having been stripped of all existence. After flying from victory to defeat, Magdalen is now fully defeated and abandoned by all. Sick, suffering from amnesia and delirious, she should be taken to a hospice or workhouse for the destitute. Is this the sad fate of a courageous woman who strove against the tide of her time? Against all odds and thanks to the coincidences typical of Victorian fiction, Captain Kirke, a merchant navy officer who once crossed paths with Magdalen and fell in love with her, rescues the broken young woman and brings her back to life. Is this perhaps a nod to Colonel Brandon, who watches over the suffering Marianne at the end of Sense and Sensibility and finally marries her?