Wilkie Collins facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Wilkie Collins
Born	William Wilkie Collins (1824-01-08)8 January 1824 Marylebone, London, England
Died	23 September 1889(1889-09-23) (aged 65) London, England
Period	1840s–1880s
Genre	Fiction, drama
Partners	Caroline Graves (1858–) Martha Rudd (1868–)
Children	3
Signature

William Wilkie Collins (born 8 January 1824 – died 23 September 1889) was an English novelist and playwright. He is famous for his mystery novels like The Woman in White (1859) and The Moonstone (1868). Many people consider The Moonstone to be one of the first modern English detective novels.

Wilkie Collins was born in London. His father, William Collins, was a painter. When Wilkie was twelve, his family moved to Italy and France for two years. During this time, he learned to speak Italian and French. He first worked as a tea merchant.

After his first novel, Antonina, came out in 1850, Collins met the famous writer Charles Dickens. Dickens became a close friend and helped Collins with his writing. Some of Collins's stories appeared in Dickens's magazines, Household Words and All the Year Round. They also worked together on plays and stories. By the 1860s, Collins was well-known and financially stable. He had a family and three children.

Wilkie Collins's Early Life

Portrait by John Everett Millais, 1850

Wilkie Collins was born in London. His father was a well-known landscape painter. Wilkie was named after his father, William, but everyone called him by his middle name, Wilkie. This name honored his godfather, David Wilkie.

In 1826, his family moved to Hampstead. His brother, Charles Allston Collins, was born in 1828. Wilkie and Charles were taught at home by their mother when they were very young. Their family was very religious, and their mother made sure they went to church often, which Wilkie did not enjoy.

In 1835, Collins started school at the Maida Vale academy. From 1836 to 1838, he lived with his parents in Italy and France. This trip made a big impression on him. He learned Italian and became fluent in French. From 1838 to 1840, he went to a private boarding school in Highbury. There, he was bullied by another boy who made him tell a story every night. Collins later said this experience helped him discover his talent for storytelling.

In 1840, Collins left school at nearly 17 years old. He started working as a clerk for a tea merchant company. He did not like this job but worked there for over five years.

Starting His Writing Journey

Collins began writing and published his first story, "The Last Stage Coachman," in a magazine in 1843. In 1844, he wrote his first novel, Iolani, but it was not published during his lifetime. Collins said the publisher thought it was too wild. This was when his father realized Wilkie would not become a painter like him.

His father wanted him to have a steady job, so Collins started studying law in 1846. He wasn't very interested in law. He spent most of his time with friends and writing his second novel, Antonina. After his father died in 1847, Collins published his first book, a biography of his father, in 1848.

His family moved, and they started putting on amateur plays in their home. In 1849, Collins even showed one of his paintings at a Royal Academy exhibition. His novel Antonina was published in 1850. Collins finished his law studies and became a lawyer in 1851. Even though he never worked as a lawyer, he used his legal knowledge in many of his novels.

Working with Charles Dickens

Portrait by Charles Allston Collins, 1853

A very important moment in Collins's career was meeting Charles Dickens in March 1851. They became lifelong friends and worked together often. In May of that year, Collins acted with Dickens in a play called Not So Bad As We Seem. Queen Victoria and Prince Albert were in the audience.

Collins's story "A Terribly Strange Bed" was published in Dickens's magazine Household Words in April 1852. In May 1852, he went on tour with Dickens's acting group.

Collins's novel Basil was published in November 1852. While writing Hide and Seek in 1853, Collins had his first attack of gout, an illness that caused him pain for the rest of his life. He was sick for several months. After that, he stayed with Dickens in France and then traveled through Switzerland and Italy with him. Collins published Hide and Seek in June 1854.

During this time, Collins wrote many different things. He published articles, short stories, and travel books. His first play, The Lighthouse, was performed by Dickens's acting company in 1855. His first collection of short stories, After Dark, came out in 1856.

Collins joined the staff of Household Words in October 1856. In 1856–57, he worked closely with Dickens on a play called The Frozen Deep. Collins's novel The Dead Secret was published in 1857. In 1858, Collins worked with Dickens and other writers on a story called "A House to Let".

Success in the 1860s

The Woman in White was published in a magazine from 1859 to 1860 and became a huge success. It was then published as a book and sold many copies. Because he was so successful, Collins was able to leave his job at All the Year Round in 1862 and focus only on writing novels.

While planning his next novel, No Name, he continued to suffer from gout, which started to affect his eyes. No Name was published in parts from 1862 to 1863. In 1863, he traveled to Germany and Italy for his health.

In 1864, he started working on his novel Armadale. He traveled to the Norfolk Broads to research for it. This novel was published in a magazine from 1864 to 1866.

His play No Thoroughfare, which he wrote with Dickens, was published in 1867. It was also performed in a theater and was very popular. The Moonstone was published in a magazine from January to August 1868. His mother, Harriet Collins, passed away that year.

Later Years and Legacy

Photograph of Collins by Napoleon Sarony, 1874

In 1870, his novel Man and Wife was published. That same year, Charles Dickens died, which made Collins very sad. He said they were as close as men could be.

The Woman in White was made into a play and performed in October 1871. Collins's novel Poor Miss Finch was published from 1871 to 1872. His short novel Miss or Mrs? came out in 1872. His novel The New Magdalen was published from 1872 to 1873. His younger brother, Charles Allston Collins, died in 1873 at age 45.

Portrait by Rudolph Lehmann, 1880

From 1873 to 1874, Collins toured the United States and Canada, giving readings of his work. He met American writers like Oliver Wendell Holmes Sr. and Mark Twain. He also became friends with photographer Napoleon Sarony, who took many pictures of him.

His novel The Law and the Lady was published from 1874 to 1875, followed by The Haunted Hotel in 1878. His later novels include Jezebel's Daughter (1880), The Black Robe (1881), Heart and Science (1883), and The Evil Genius (1886). In 1884, Collins became Vice-President of the Society of Authors.

In his last ten years, Collins's health declined, and his eyesight got worse. He often found it hard to leave his home or write. During these years, he helped younger writers. He also used his legal background to help protect other writers from copyright problems. His writing helped him cope with his illness. His step-daughter, Harriet, also helped him write for several years. His last novel, Blind Love, was finished after his death by Walter Besant.

Wilkie Collins's Death

Monument, Kensal Green Cemetery

Monument detail, Kensal Green Cemetery

Wilkie Collins died on 23 September 1889, at his home in London, after a paralytic stroke. He is buried in Kensal Green Cemetery, West London. His gravestone says he was the author of The Woman in White.

Wilkie Collins's Personal Life

In 1858, Collins began living with Caroline Graves and her daughter Harriet. He treated Harriet as his own daughter and helped with her education. They lived together for most of Collins's life. Collins was dedicated to Caroline and Harriet, considering them his family.

Later, in 1868, Collins met Martha Rudd. They had three children together: Marian (born 1869), Harriet Constance (born 1871), and William Charles (born 1874). When he was with Martha and their children, Collins used the name William Dawson. For the last 20 years of his life, Collins divided his time between Caroline and Martha, who lived nearby. Collins was a Christian.

Famous Works by Wilkie Collins

Captioned "The Novelist who invented Sensation", caricature of Wilkie Collins in Vanity Fair, 3 February 1872

Collins's books were called "sensation novels" at the time. This type of story is now seen as an early form of detective and suspense stories. He also wrote about important social issues, especially those affecting women. For example, his 1854 novel Hide and Seek featured one of the first deaf characters in English literature.

Like many writers of his time, Collins often published his novels in parts, or "serials," in magazines like Dickens's All the Year Round. He was very good at this, creating just enough suspense to keep readers excited for the next part each week.

Collins had ten years of great success after The Woman in White was published in 1859. His next novel, No Name, talked about how unfair laws could be for children whose parents were not married. It was also a thrilling revenge story.

Armadale was published in a different magazine and received some criticism. Some readers found the villainess, Lydia Gwilt, to be too bold. Even so, Collins made a lot of money from this novel.

The Moonstone, published in 1868, is considered one of Collins's best works. Many people see it as the start of the detective story in English novels. T. S. Eliot called it "the first, the longest, and the best of modern English detective novels." The mystery writer Dorothy L. Sayers called it "probably the very finest detective story ever written."

After The Moonstone, Collins's novels focused more on social issues and less on thrilling plots. His popularity went down a bit. Some reasons for this might include the death of Dickens in 1870, which meant Collins lost his writing mentor. Collins also used his stories to speak out against social injustices.

The Woman in White and The Moonstone have an interesting way of telling the story. Different parts of the book are told by different characters, each with their own unique voice.

Important Books by Wilkie Collins

Cover of the first edition of The Haunted Hotel by Wilkie Collins, 1879

• Antonina, or The Fall of Rome (1850)
• Basil (1852)
• Hide and Seek (1854)
• The Dead Secret (1856)
• After Dark (1856), a collection of short stories
• The Frozen Deep (1857), a play written with Charles Dickens
• The Woman in White (1860)
• No Name (1862)
• Armadale (1866)
• No Thoroughfare (1867), a story and play written with Charles Dickens
• The Moonstone (1868)
• Man and Wife (1870)
• Poor Miss Finch (1872)
• The Law and the Lady (1875)
• The Haunted Hotel (1878)
• Jezebel's Daughter (1880)
• The Black Robe (1881)
• Heart and Science (1882–1883)

Movies and TV Shows Based on His Books

• The Woman in White (silent film, UK, 1929)
• The Moonstone (1934)
• The Woman in White (US, 1948)
• The Moonstone (UK, TV series, 1959)
• The Woman in White (West Germany, TV miniseries, 1971)
• The Woman in White (USSR, 1981)
• The Woman In White (UK, TV series, 1982)
• The Woman in White (UK, TV series, 1997)
• Basil (1998)
• The Moonstone (UK, TV series, 2016)
• The Woman in White (UK, TV series, 2018)

Images for kids

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  Wilkie Collins's signature

See also

In Spanish: William Wilkie Collins para niños

• Illegitimacy in fiction