This novel is really interesting in many ways. First of all, Wilkie Collins takes character types that would normally make for questionable characters in Victorian literature, the disabled and deformed, and makes them the heroes of his story in a sympathetic attempt to give them a voice and show how the common behavior towards them hurts them. Speaking of characters, the ones in his books always seem to be exaggerated but still three dimensional: the good guys have flaws and things to ridicule as well as the villians redeeming factors. The way he draws them make them memorable and easy to latch on to. Also, the book has elements of what today would be different genres: hard hitting contemporary drama, a tiny bit of mystery, romance and even domestic thriller. In modern books it would be hard to make the shifts in plot work but here there was a consistent tone and getting from one point to the next seemed logical. There were some minor plot elements that were a teensy bit frustrating, like including a liar reveal / deception element, but it was handled in a way that didn't impact my enjoyment much. The villian would be right at home in a domestic thriller, not seeming like one at first with just minor red flags but later turning out to have some creepy motives. I'm exited to soon discover more works by Wilkie Collins since they sure are something special.