"The Dead Secret: A Novel" by Wilkie Collins is a novel published in 1857. A dying woman's confession sets a devastating secret in motion—one that reveals the true parentage of Rosamond Treverton, raised as a wealthy heiress at Porthgenna Tower. Twenty years later, a hidden letter threatens to unravel everything when Rosamond and her blind husband Leonard return to the estate. As the truth emerges, questions of inheritance, legitimacy, and acceptance hang in the balance in this early sensation novel.
Wikipedia page about this book: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Dead_Secret