In Miss or Mrs?Natalie Graybrook is in love with her cousin Launcelot Linzie, but must stay engaged to the detestable Richard Turlington in order to receive her inheritance. The Frozen Deep is a play Collins wrote with the help of Charles Dickens, set in the Arctic, and inspired by Sir John Franlkins famous expedition in 1845which ended in cannibalism.

William Wilkie Collins(18241889) was considered the godfather of the detective novel. His sensation novels brought Collins great popularity in the Victorian era. He also focused on serious social and domestic issues. Collins published thirty novels (includingThe Woman in White), more than sixty short stories, and over a dozen plays, in addition to numerous nonfiction pieces.