The Legacy of Cain

The Legacy of Cain explores the provocative question of inherited guilt through the life of Eunice, a girl raised by a reverend after her mother is executed for murder. As she matures, the shadow of her origin looms, especially when love, jealousy, and secrets threaten to derail her future. With psychological insight and social critique, the novel examines how society treats those marked by scandal, and whether fate is determined by blood or by choice. Collins weaves moral complexity into a suspenseful domestic drama, challenging Victorian assumptions about crime, redemption, and female virtue.

William Wilkie Collins (1824-1889) was an English novelist and playwright, best known for The Woman in White and The Moonstone. The Legacy of Cain, the final novel completed by Collins, explores the theme of hereditary evil, and attacks the idea that bad blood necessarily results in a criminality.