Dr. Jason Hall contributes to first critical edition of Jezebel’s Daughter by Wilkie Collins

Dr. Jason Hall, Senior Lecturer in English and Head of Humanities at Penryn, has written an introduction to the only scholarly edition of 'Jezebels Daughter', Wilkie Collins's 1880 novel about a scheming widow and the lengths she goes to in order to secure her daughter’s future.

Dr. Hall consulted the manuscript of the novel and the play on which it is based, The Red Vial, whilst visiting the Harry Ransom Center at the University of Texas; he also referred to the original serial publication at the British Library in London. Dr. Hall comments, ”This project grew out of my teaching, in particular my year-three option module ‘Sex, Scandal and Sensation in Victorian Literature’—so it’s really an example of teaching-led research. Fittingly, I’ve set the novel on that course, so my students next term will be among the first to engage with this new edition of Collins’s late novel”.

His introduction examines the novel’s fascination with science and the female poisoner, the novel’s relationship to other works of fiction by Collins and how the story combines the horror and crime genres.

Work on the new edition was funded by a Henriette F. and Clarence L. Cline Memorial Endowment Fund Award of US$3,000 from the Harry Ransom Center (HRC), University of Texas, Austin.

Date: 12 January 2016