Wilkie Collins

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Lore & Background

Collins was born at 11 New Cavendish Street, London, the son of William Collins, a well-known Royal Academician landscape painter, and his wife, Harriet Geddes. Named after his father, he soon became known by his middle name, which honoured his godfather, the painter David Wilkie. The family moved to Pond Street, Hampstead, in 1826. In 1828 Collins's brother Charles Allston Collins was born. Between 1829 and 1830, the Collins family moved twice, first to Hampstead Square and then to Porchester Terrace, Bayswater. Wilkie and Charles received their early education from their mother at home. The Collins family were deeply religious, and Collins's mother enforced strict church attendance on her sons, which Wilkie disliked. In 1835, Collins began attending school at the Maida Vale academy. From 1836 to 1838, he lived with his parents in Italy and France, which made a great impression on him. He learned Italian while in Italy and began learning French, in which he would eventually become fluent. From 1838 to 1840, he attended the Reverend Cole's private boarding school in Highbury, where he was bullied. One boy forced Collins to tell him a story every night before allowing him to go to sleep. "It was this brute who first awakened in me, his poor little victim, a power of which but for him I might never have been aware.... When I left school I continued story telling for my own pleasure," Collins later said. In 1840 the family moved to 85 Oxford Terrace, Bayswater. In late 1840, Collins left school at the age of nearly 17 and was apprenticed as a clerk to the firm of tea merchants Antrobus & Co, owned by a friend of Wilkie's father. He disliked clerical work, but worked for the company for more than five years. Collins started writing and published his first story, "The Last Stage Coachman", in the *Illuminated Magazine* in August 1843. In 1844 he travelled to Paris with Charles Ward. That same year he wrote his first novel, *Iolani, or Tahiti as It Was; a Romance*, which was submitted to Chapman and Hall but rejected in 1845. The novel remained unpublished during his lifetime. Collins said of it: "My youthful imagination ran riot among the noble savages, in scenes which caused the respectable British publisher to declare that it was impossible to put his name on the title page of such a novel." While Collins was writing this novel, his father first learned that his son would not follow him in becoming a painter. William Collins had intended his first son to become a clergyman and was disappointed in Wilkie's lack of interest in the profession. At his father's insistence, Collins instead entered Lincoln's Inn in 1846, to study law; his father wanted him to have a steady income. Collins showed only a slight interest in law and spent most of his time with friends and on working on a second novel, *Antonina, or the Fall of Rome*. After his father's death in 1847, Collins produced his first published book, *Memoirs of the Life of William Collins*, published in 1848. The family moved to 38 Blandford Square soon afterwards, where they used their drawing room for amateur theatricals. In 1849, Collins exhibited a painting, *The Smugglers' Retreat*, at the Royal Academy summer exhibition. *Antonina* was published by Richard Bentley in February 1850. Collins went on a walking tour of Cornwall with artist Henry Brandling in July and August 1850. Collins wrote an account of their travels, which Brandling illustrated. Collins managed to complete his legal studies and was called to the bar in 1851. Though he never formally practised, he used his legal knowledge in many of his novels. An instrumental event in his career was an introduction in March 1851 to Charles Dickens by their friend in common, the painter Augustus Egg. They became lifelong friends and collaborators. In May of that year, Collins acted with Dickens in Edward Bulwer-Lytton's play *Not So Bad As We Seem*. Among the audience were Queen Victoria and Prince Albert. Collins's story "A Terribly Strange Bed", his first contribution to Dickens's journal *Household Words*, was published in April 1852. In May 1852 he went on tour with Dickens's company of amateur actors, again performing *Not So Bad As We Seem*, but with a more substantial role. Collins's novel *Basil* was published by Bentley in November. During the writing of *Hide and Seek*, in early 1853, Collins suffered what was probably his first attack of gout, a condition from which he would suffer for the rest of his life. He was ill from April to early July. After that he stayed with Dickens in Boulogne from July to September 1853, then toured Switzerland and Italy with Dickens and Egg from October to December. Collins published *Hide and Seek* in June 1854. During this period Collins extended the variety of his writing, publishing articles in George Henry Lewes's paper *The Leader*, short stories and essays for *Bentley's Miscellany*, as well as dramatic criticism and the travel book *Rambles Beyond Railways* (1851). His first play, *The Lighthouse*, was performed by Dickens's theatrical company at Tavistock House, in 1855. His first collection of short stories, *After Dark*, was published by Smith, Elder in February 1856. His novel *A Rogue's Life* was serialised in *Household Words* in March 1856. Around then, Collins began using laudanum regularly to treat his gout. He became addicted and struggled with that problem later in life. Collins joined the staff of *Household Words* in October 1856. In 1856–57 he collaborated closely with Dickens on a play, *The Frozen Deep*, first performed in Tavistock. Collins's novel *The Dead Secret* was serialised in *Household Words* from January to June 1857, before being published in volume form by Bradbury and Evans. Collins's play *The Lighthouse* was performed at the Olympic Theatre in August. His account, *The Lazy Tour of Two Idle Apprentices*, based on Dickens's and Collins's walking tour in the north of England, was serialised in *Household Words* in October 1857. In 1858 Collins collaborated with Dickens and other writers on the story "A House to Let". According to Collins's biographer Melisa Klimaszewski, "The novels Collins published in the 1860s are the best and most enduring of his career. *The Woman in White*, *No Name*, *Armadale*, and *The Moonstone*, written in less than a decade, show Collins not just as a master of his craft, but as an innovator and provocateur. These four works, which secured him an international reputation, and sold in large numbers, ensured his financial stability, and allowed him to support many others." *The Woman in White* was serialised in *All the Year Round* from November 1859 to August 1860 to great success. The novel was published in book form soon after and reached an eighth edition by November 1860. His rising success as a writer allowed Collins to resign his post with *All the Year Round* in 1862 and focus on his novels. While planning his next novel, *No Name*, he continued to suffer from gout, which began to affect his eyes. Serial publication of *No Name* began in early 1862 and finished in 1863. By that time Collins was having difficulty controlling the amount of laudanum he was taking for his continual gout and became addicted. At the beginning of 1863, he travelled with Caroline Graves to German spas and Italy for his health. In 1864, he began work on his novel *Armadale*, travelling in August to the Norfolk Broads and the village of Winterton-on-Sea to do research for it. It was published serially in *The Cornhill Magazine* in 1864–1866. His play *No Thoroughfare*, co-written with Dickens, was published as the 1867 Christmas number of *All the Year Round* and dramatised at the Adelphi Theatre in the West End on 26 December. It enjoyed a run of 200 nights before being taken on tour. *The Moonstone* was serialised in *All the Year Round* from January to August 1868. His mother, Harriet Collins, died in that year. In 1870, Collins's novel *Man and Wife* was published. That year Charles Dickens died, which caused him great sadness. He said of the friends' early days together, "We saw each other every day, and were as fond of each other as men could be." *The Woman in White* was dramatised and produced at the Olympic Theatre in October 1871. Collins's novel *Poor Miss Finch* was serialised in *Cassell's Magazine* from October to March 1872. His short novel *Miss or Mrs.?* was published in the 1871 Christmas number of the *Graphic*. His novel *The New Magdalen* was serialised from October 1872 to July 1873. His younger brother, Charles Allston Collins, died later in 1873 at the age of 45.

Reader's Guide

Wilkie Collins's significance lies in his pioneering contributions to the mystery and detective genres. *The Woman in White* (1860) is an early sensation novel that captivated readers with its intricate plot and use of multiple narrators. *The Moonstone* (1868) is widely regarded as a foundational work of the modern detective novel, establishing conventions such as a central mystery, a detective figure, and a focus on clues and deduction; it is also perhaps the earliest clear example of the police procedural genre. Collins's work in the 1860s secured him an international reputation and financial stability. His collaborations with Charles Dickens, including contributions to Dickens's journals and joint theatrical works, were instrumental in his career. Despite declining health and addiction to laudanum later in life, Collins's four major novels from the 1860s remain his most enduring legacy, influencing generations of crime and mystery writers.

Did You Know?

• Collins's first novel, *Iolani, or Tahiti as It Was; a Romance*, was rejected by Chapman and Hall in 1845 and remained unpublished during his lifetime.
• One boy at the Reverend Cole's private boarding school forced Collins to tell him a story every night before allowing him to sleep, which Collins later said awakened his power of storytelling.
• Collins's play *No Thoroughfare*, co-written with Charles Dickens, enjoyed a run of 200 nights at the Adelphi Theatre in the West End starting 26 December 1867.
• Collins began using laudanum regularly to treat his gout around 1856 and became addicted, struggling with that problem later in life.
• After Charles Dickens died in 1870, Collins said of their early days together, 'We saw each other every day, and were as fond of each other as men could be.'