Shipwrecks and Strangers

Shipwrecks, pirates, stolen identities and a mysterious house: five tales of mystery and adventure from Charles Dickens.

In No Thoroughfare, a mix-up at the London Foundling Hospital leads to a deadly crossing of the snow-bound Alps. The Wreck of the Golden Mary follows the survivors of a gold-rush ship adrift in an open boat, while A Message from the Sea begins with a bottle washed ashore in Devon. The Perils of Certain English Prisoners is a tale of pirates in Central America, and A House to Let watches the comings and goings at a strange empty house across the street.

Written for the Christmas issues of Dickens's magazine, several of these stories were created with his friend Wilkie Collins, author of The Moonstone, and they show both writers at their most thrilling.