Broadview Literary Texts: Heart and Science

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Wilkie Collins’s later novels often address social issues alongside storytelling, remaining as engaging and thought-provoking today as when first published. This is especially true for his 1883 novel, which Collins regarded as equal to his masterpiece. The narrative follows the orphaned Carmina Graywell, who is under the control of her aunt, Mrs. Gallilee, while her fiancé is away in Canada for health reasons. Mrs. Gallilee schemes to manipulate and ultimately destroy the naïve yet strong-willed Carmina over her inheritance. Complicating matters is Dr. Benjulia, a dark genius whose obsession with brain diseases leads him to encourage Carmina’s life-threatening illness for scientific observation. The story builds to two climactic scenes filled with tension. Collins tackles the contentious issue of vivisection, inspired by a sensational 1880s trial involving a doctor acquitted of practicing live experimentation on animals without a license. The volume includes excerpts from contemporary accounts of this trial, documents related to the vivisectionist controversy, and various contemporary reviews. With a full introduction, chronology, explanatory notes, and a note on the text, the novel’s exploration of the struggle between strong-willed women resonates with modern readers, echoing today’s animal welfare and rights debates.