Dirty Rotten Scoundrels
Wilkie Collins, No Name, 1862
I can't remember the last time I read a novel as enjoyable as this one, a page-turner ground on strong characters and a thought-provoking theme. No Name tells the story of two sisters, Norah and Magdalen, who fall into poverty after they discover they have no claim on their parents' inheritance, thanks to a technicality in the will. The girls' entire estate is left to a distant, and greedy, uncle who decides to only give them 100 pounds from the estate. Norah, the eldest, accepts her fate and finds work as a governess in London. Magdalen, however, takes matters into her own hands and plots an intricate revenge on the uncle with the help of a con artist.
Wilkie Collins was a friend of Charles Dickens and this novel was published in its time as a serial, much like Dickens' work. Each chapter carries enough plot twists and cliffhangers to keep you interested on the story, as well as colourful characters - scoundrels, greedy rich men, scheming housekeepers - that are memorable and beg the question: why hasn't this been turned into a BBC series yet?!