After Dark  by Wilkie Collins

First published in the year 1856, the present book ‘After Dark’ is a collection of six short stories by Wilkie Collins. The stories in this volume are linked by a narrative framework. At the beginning and end of the book are “Leaves from Leah’s Diary”: William Kerby, a travelling portrait-painter, is in danger of losing his sight, and is required by his doctor to cease painting for a while. His wife Leah realizes that destitution threatens. He is a good story-teller, and Leah has the idea of writing down his stories and publishing them. Each story has a prologue, which was added to the original story that appeared in ‘Household Words’ magazine. (courtesy: wikipedia)