Wilkie Collins

A Mystery of Modern Venice ; to which is Added My Lady's Money

The Haunted Hotel

An eminent doctor is visited by a desperate woman with a question: am I evil, or insane? When the letters from Italian servant to his wife in London suddenly cease, she is convinced he has been murdered. In the darkened bedroom of a mouldering palazzo by the Grand Canal, an English lord sickens and suddenly dies. How are these little mysteries connected? Spend the night in Room 14 of Veniceâe(tm)s finest hotel, and find out the truth âe" if you dareâe¦ INCLUDES THE GHOST STORY âe~THE DREAM WOMANâe(tm)

Colleen

3.5 Stars
 
*An atmospheric classic horror story with a great beginning and end, but an notably dull middle*
 

 I have been meaning to read Wilkie Collins for years. More years than I care to admit. But The Woman in White and The Moonstone are a bit intimidating. So when I came across this novella, I thought it would be a good place to start. 

The Haunted Hotel opens with a dramatic start: A woman pleading with a doctor to answer if she is evil or insane. The story has some fantastic elements in it: a scorned lover, a controversial marriage, a mysterious disappearance, a deadly premonition, a possible haunting, and of course, the question of evilness versus insanity. The beginning and end of the story are atmospheric and captivating.

The problem is the middle of the story. There is a huge chunk of the middle where the characters just sit around discussing what they know and don’t know. And much of that discussion involves tedious talk of wills and insurance policies. It just went on too long in a drawn-out infodump of tedious information. So instead of building tension, it drained the story that part of the story.

The other thing I did not like was the character Agnes Lockwood. She embodied that Victorian archetype of guileless paragon of virtue. You know, the type that is so naïve and innocent and forgiving that they make you want to scream. Those brainless fluffs who live to oblige the men in their lives. If Agnes wasn’t offset by the much more interesting and dynamic Countess, then I’d be inclined to call Collins a total Neanderthal. But given that the all-encompassing uselessness in only embodied in Agnes, I’ll give Collins the benefit of the doubt.

The story does finish strongly though. If the middle had been trimmed down, this would have been a higher rating for me. As with many classic works, you can see the influence they have had on more modern works, and I also find that fascinating. And despite not loving The Haunted Hotel, I am looking forward to reading more of Collins’ work.


RATING FACTORS:
Ease of Reading: 4 Stars
Writing Style: 4 Stars
Characters and Character Development: 3 Stars
Plot Structure and Development: 3 Stars
Level of Captivation: 3 Stars
Originality: 3 Stars

Sarah Escorsa

I only recently discovered Wilkie Collins and his novels. I have read only a few so far and find them both entertaining and well-written. Collins’ writing has that old-fashioned feel to it but isn’t dated at all. I like the atmosphere that pervades throughout his book, although his descriptions can be quite tedious sometimes. In The Haunted Hotel there aren’t so many descriptions (I suppose because it is a short story) and the style is more “to the point”. Granted, the novel doesn’t charm as much as The Woman in White or The Moonstone but it is still an enjoyable read.

Kelsey Lucero

** spoiler alert **
           I was so excited for this book because I loved The Moonstone and The Woman in White, but I was disappointed. The mystery of the story really didn’t end up being a mystery much at all and we had to go through a lot to realize that. The Countess going mad and all of her doomsday talk didn’t make sense. Based on how she and her brother went about everything, she wouldn’t have been affected at all by taking someone else’s betrothed or killing him later.

The Haunted Hotel A Mystery of Modern Venice ; to which is Added My Lady's Money