Wilkie Collins was an English novelist, playwright, and short story writer. Armadale is a novel by Collins, first published in 1864–66. When the elderly Allan Armadale makes a terrible confession on his death-bed, he has little idea of the repercussions to come, for the secret he reveals involves the mysterious Lydia Gwilt: flamed-hair temptress, bigamist, laudanum addict and husband-poisoner. This traditional melodrama also considers the modern theme of the role of women in society.