The Legacy of Cain

Published in 1888, The Legacy of Cain is Wilkie Collins’s final completed novel, centering on two sisters, Helen and Eunice, who have been raised in ignorance of their true origins by their father, Reverend Gracedieu. The revelation of one sister's adoption, linked to her birth mother's conviction for murder, complicates their lives when both sisters fall for the same man, Philip Dunboyne. The narrative unfolds through the perspective of the prison governor concerned about the potential inheritance of evil from the executed mother. This multi-cast recording, led by Nicholas Boulton, delves into themes of hereditary evil reminiscent of Collins's earlier works.