• The only critical edition of Wilkie Collins's sensational tale of a scheming widow, willing to go to any lengths to secure her future and that of her daughter
• Set in Germany, the novel features an intricate plot, memorable characters, and a climactic set-piece in the Frankfurt 'Deadhouse'
• The novel's plot hinges on the battle between two strong women, and evokes the Victorian fascination with experimental science and medicine, and attitudes to madness and disability
• The introduction considers the novel's fascination with science and the female poisoner, its relationship to Collins's other fiction and its sensational aspects, part crime mystery, part horror story
• Includes a chronology of the author, select bibliography, and useful notes

 
'The power that I have dreamed of all my life is mine at last!'

How far is a mother prepared to go to secure her daughter's future? Madame Fontaine, widow of an eminent chemist, has both the determination and the cunning to bring young Minna's marriage plans to fruition, with dangerous consequences for anyone who dares to stand in her way. But has she met her match in Jack Straw, one-time inmate of Bedlam lunatic asylum? It will take a visit to the morgue to find out who triumphs - and who comes out alive.

Reminiscent of Collins's blockbusters The Woman in White and Armadale, this suspenseful case study in villainy is set against the financial world of 1820s Frankfurt and tells the story of two widows, one of them devoted to realizing her husband's social reforms, the other equally devoted to the pursuit of her daughter's happiness. 
 
 
REVIEWS:

"An excellent sensation novel with some fascinating social history. Hooray for Oxford World's Classics for reprinting it." - Harriet Devine's Blog

"this book is a cracking good story exciting, twisty, thought-provoking and very unputdownable. On the evidence of Jezebel's Daughter, Collins was more than just a one (or two!) trick pony, and Im definitely up for reading more of his work!" - Karen Langley, Kaggsy's Bookish Ramblings

"a lot to enjoy" - Lyn Baines, I Prefer Reading