Trilby

Highly successful novel, "Trilby" (1894), is perhaps the second bestselling novel of its time after Bram Stoker's "Dracula." The novel is set in the 1850's in an idyllic bohemian Paris. Trilby O'Ferrall, the novel's heroine, is a half-Irish girl working in Paris as an artists' model and laundress. One of the most memorable characters is Svengali, a Jewish rogue, masterful musician, and hypnotist who, by hypnotization, transforms Trilby into a great diva. Under his spell, Trilby becomes a talented singer, performing always in an amnesiac trance. At one performance, she is unable to sing in tune due to Svengali having a heart attack, and ends up the laughing stock of the show.