The Black Robe

A late novel by Collins that deals with religion and influence. It centres on a country estate once held by the Church and now owned by a family whose members are drawn into a conflict over faith, property and conscience. A determined Jesuit priest, Father Benwell, seeks to bring about a return of the lands, using persuasion and manipulation. Collins writes a tense story of domestic pressure and suspicion, and he gives a sharp view of religious controversy in Victorian England.