The Law and the Lady is a detective story, and sensation novel published in 1875 by Wilkie Collins.

Just a few days after the wedding, various incidents lead Valeria to suspect her husband of hiding a dark secret in his past.

Eustace refuses to discuss it, leading them to curtail their honeymoon and return to London where Valeria learns that he was on trial for his first wife's murder by arsenic.

Dexter will prove crucial to uncovering the disturbing truth behind the mysterious death.

Wilkie Collins explores themes of disability with the character of Miserrimus Dexter, who his depicted as a handsome and highly intelligent dandy despite the loss of his lower limbs.