Wilkie Collins
Jr@Ease
as a report topic for his English class. There is not a lot of stuff
out there, and he is only allowed one internet source. Most of his
info must come from books. He already has his internet sources.
We went to the librry this evening an obtained a copy of the
"Moonstone" with a nice foreword written by PD James, and some
biographical pages copied out of a few reference books, but I figured
someone here might be able to point me to some other sources. He has
to come up with enough info to speak intelligently for 15 minutes.
Since I'm told that Collins is known as the "father of the modern
detective novel" this is actually on topic!
Thanks in advance.
John P
Kat Richardson
"The Woman in White" was published in 1860 and predates "The Moonstone".
This is the book most people are referring to when they call Collins the
"father of the modern detective novel." The PBS television series Mystery,
showed a version of The Woman in White in the late 70s or early 80s which
might be available through your library and included some very nice
introductions to the parts (three, I think).
--
Kat Richardson
Being educated is one thing. Getting a job is another.
http://www.eskimo.com/~strange/
Kat Richardson
Oh, yeah... A collection of Wilkie Collins' letters were published in 1999
by a Baker and Clark. They probably include some of his letters written
while he was sick in Boulogne and hanging out with Charles Dickens who was
also sick and hanging out in Boulogne.
kat >^.^<
stuff from Ebscohost is rather adult (this is from Middle Search Plus, from
the Britannica Biography Collection). I can find some boring stuff he can
pick from. You might call your local library and see if they have a
database you can access. Or, they might have something from the Penn DPI.
Wisconsin has this webpage support by the WI Dept of Public Instruction
called BadgerLink at http://www.badgerlink.net/. Anyone in Wisconsin can
access it, and there are two lovely databases, Ebsco and Proquest, with a
gazillion magazine and newspaper sources (that means you, Joan and Jon and
Thelma and Jim). Your tax dollars, etc. I *love* this thing. Not
accessible from out of state, sorry.
kat >^.^<
in Wisconsin
(William) Wilkie Collins
Source: Britannica Biography Collection
Abstract: Early master of the mystery story and the first English novelist
to write in this genre.
Accession Number: bgh24786
Persistent link to this record:
http://search.epnet.com/direct.asp?an=bgh24786&db=mih
Database: Middle Search Plus
View Links: <BR>Search WISCAT for Wisconsin libraries that own this title.
* * *
Collins, (William) Wilkie
born Jan. 8, 1824, London
died Sept. 23, 1889, London
Early master of the mystery story and the first English novelist to write in
this genre.
The son of William Collins (1788-1847), the landscape painter, he developed
a gift for inventing tales while still a schoolboy at a private boarding
school. At an early age he was placed in the tea trade, where his
performance was undistinguished. After studying law at Lincoln's Inn, he was
admitted to the bar in 1851 but proved to have as little aptitude for law as
for commerce. He worked, instead, on an historical novel, painted well
enough to have a picture hung at the Royal Academy, engaged in theatricals,
and visited Paris. His first published work was a memoir to his father, who
died in 1847, Memoirs of the Life of William Collins, Esq., R.A. (1848). His
fiction followed shortly after: Antonina; or, the Fall of Rome (1850) and
Basil (1852), a highly coloured tale of seduction and vengeance with a
contemporary middle-class setting and passages of uncompromising realism. In
1851 he began an association with Dickens that exerted a formative influence
on his career. Their admiration was mutual. Under Dickens' influence,
Collins developed a talent for characterization, humour, and popular
success, while the older writer's debt to Collins is evident in the more
skillful and suspenseful plot structures of such novels as A Tale of Two
Cities (1859) and Great Expectations (1860-61). Collins began contributing
serials to Dickens' periodical Household Words, and his first major work,
The Woman in White (1860), appeared in Dickens' All the Year Round. Among
his most successful subsequent books were No Name (1862), Armadale (1866),
and The Moonstone (1868).
One of the first and greatest masters of the mystery story, he was a
much-imitated writer. The motif of The Moonstone, concerning a cursed jewel
that was originally stolen from an idol's eye, has been repeated countless
times, and his Count Fosco in The Woman in White is the illustrious original
of innumerable bravura villains.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
----
Source: Britannica Biography Collection
Item: bgh24786
"Jr@Ease" <do.not.s...@this.address> wrote in message
news:t8da4090l4vtqet1q...@4ax.com...
Luke Croll
There's also a BBC version of it, but I absolutely hated it. They
mauled the book, so it's probably not the best example.
The only other articles I could think of are highly academic ones,
published in journals such as 'Nineteenth-century Fiction' and 'The
Journal Of Brtish Studies'. The level of these will be much too high
unfortunately, as these are aimed at university academics.
My mind is a blank at the moment. I'm surprised there's no biography
specifically on him.
--
Luke Croll
The alt.books.dean-koontz FAQ is at:
http://home.earthlink.net/~abdk-faq/faq.htm
The ABDK Castle is at:
http://home.earthlink.net/~koontz-castle/
Jr@Ease
<trompRE...@charter.net> wrote:
<snip>
Got your emails Kat. Thanks
John P
Jr@Ease
wrote:
>My mind is a blank at the moment. I'm surprised there's no biography
>specifically on him.
Me too. Our county library is small, and there wasn't much there.
The state library is huge, however, and happens to be only a mile or
so from my office, so I may check there if my son needs more.
Thanks Luke.
John P
Jr@Ease
<null....@lycos.comPOST> wrote:
>
>This is the book most people are referring to when they call Collins the
>"father of the modern detective novel." The PBS television series Mystery,
>showed a version of The Woman in White in the late 70s or early 80s which
>might be available through your library and included some very nice
>introductions to the parts (three, I think).
Thanks, Kat. I'll see if I can find those.I can just hear my son
now: "You want me to watch WHAT <rolling eyes>. Is James Bond in it?"
He's not exactly enthused about this project. The teacher made up a
list of topics, and had everyone pull numbers out of a hat. My son
pulled #1, and said out loud "Yes! #1". When the teacher heard him say
that, he had the class choose evens first (2,4,6,8, etc) and then
odds, so that he didn't get first pick. He was going to pick Sherlock
Holmes.
Can you believe the entire County library system had only two books by
Collins? One was the Moonstone, and the other a book about the South
Seas islands (I think).
John P
Annie C
"Jr@Ease" <do.not.s...@this.address> wrote in message
news:t8da4090l4vtqet1q...@4ax.com...
You might try to get your hands on a copy of the excellent Julian Symon's
'Mortal Consequences: A History from the Detective Story to the Crime
Novel'. Some good concise analyses there of Collin's work, where he fits
into the scheme of things, and mentions of him throughout. It seems to be
out of print, which is a shame, but I'd be happy to lend you my pb copy if
you cannot locate one elsewhere.. I did see some used ones over on amazon..
Annie
Fidelis Morgan
"Luke Croll" <Luke...@yahoo.com> wrote & > >Jr@Ease wrote:
> >
> >> I need a little help for my son. He has been assigned Wilkie Collins
> specifically on him.
There's Wilkie Collins an Illustrated Guide by Andrew Gasson from OUP and
The Secret Life of Wilkie Collins (he had a kind of 2 wife situation) by Wm
M Clarke - both are excellent and can be got quite cheap at www.abebooks.com
. What a marvellous writer he was. He also co-wrote plays with Dickens.
FM
Mary Reagan
This won't help your son, but there's a series of mysteries that feature
Charles Dickens and Wilkie Collins. At least I think its a series. I've only
read one of them and the authors name is escaping me at the moment.
Mary
David Matthews
Jr@Ease
<mre...@ldeo.columbia.edu> wrote:
>
>This won't help your son, but there's a series of mysteries that feature
>Charles Dickens and Wilkie Collins. At least I think its a series. I've only
>read one of them and the authors name is escaping me at the moment.
>
>Mary
Actually, Mary, he's aware of the friendship between Collins and
DIckens, so the existence of a current series about it, even though
fiction, is a little tidbit he could use.
He's got to be able to talk about him for 15 minutes, and every little
bit helps. Thanks
John P
Jr@Ease
<fide...@NOSPAMTHANKSfidelismorgan.com> wrote:
>There's Wilkie Collins an Illustrated Guide by Andrew Gasson from OUP and
>The Secret Life of Wilkie Collins (he had a kind of 2 wife situation) by Wm
>M Clarke - both are excellent and can be got quite cheap at www.abebooks.com
>. What a marvellous writer he was. He also co-wrote plays with Dickens.
>FM
>
Just checked the local library, and they have a *Roy* Gasson who wrote
"The Illustrated Oscar Wilde";, "...Robert Louis Stevenson".; and
"...Lewis Carroll", but no Wilkie Collins (damn). Is that the same
guy?
Nothing by Clarke either.
Thanks Fidelis
John P
Janet Puistonen
Well, the best source for scholarly discussion of his works would probably
be the Modern Language Association catologue, an index of scholarly articles
in a wide array of journals. You would likely only find this and the
journals it indexes in a university or other research library. If there's a
college near you, try calling their library reference staff.
You could also try the Oxford Guide to English Literature, which must have
an article on him...just back from unsuccessfully searching my house for my
copy of that invaluable book...and in the process checked the Encylopedia
Brittanica. Found a very interesting short article on him commenting on his
friendship with Dickens, his Victorian style, the fact that certain of his
characters became blueprints for standard types in the genre, and the opium
addiction that increasingly disabled him as he aged (!). Plenty of avenues
there.
--
Janet
Dear Artemesia! Poetry's a Snare:/Bedlam has many Mansions:have a
care:/ Your Muse diverts you, makes the Reader sad:/ You think your
self inspir'd; He thinks you mad.
---
Outgoing mail is certified Virus Free.
Checked by AVG anti-virus system (http://www.grisoft.com).
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Janet Puistonen
> Collins? One was the Moonstone, and the other a book about the South
> Seas islands (I think).
>
> John P
I can well believe it. Librarians seem to love to throw out books that
aren't checked out frequently. I know people who periodically check out
various classics and older fiction that they've already read, just to keep
them on the shelves.
Janet Puistonen
> Instruction called BadgerLink at http://www.badgerlink.net/. Anyone
> in Wisconsin can access it, and there are two lovely databases, Ebsco
> and Proquest, with a gazillion magazine and newspaper sources (that
> means you, Joan and Jon and Thelma and Jim). Your tax dollars, etc.
> I *love* this thing. Not accessible from out of state, sorry.
>
> kat >^.^<
> in Wisconsin
<snip>
The part I snipped is an abbreviated version of the article in my printed
Brittanica.
I was also going to mention Ebsco--it's a great research recource, and
available at our county library through the reference librarians. Very
likely also available at yours.
David Matthews
>
> My mind is a blank at the moment. I'm surprised there's no biography
> specifically on him.
> --
> Luke Croll
Actually I do have one. "Wilkie Collins" by Kenneth Robertson
published by Davis-Poynter, London. Haven't read it yet so I don't
know how good it is.
Dave in Toronto
kat >^.^<
"Janet Puistonen" <box...@verizon.net> wrote in message
news:PDn1c.20495$6c5....@nwrdny01.gnilink.net...
> > Can you believe the entire County library system had only two books by
> > Collins? One was the Moonstone, and the other a book about the South
> > Seas islands (I think).
> >
> > John P
>
> I can well believe it. Librarians seem to love to throw out books that
> aren't checked out frequently. I know people who periodically check out
> various classics and older fiction that they've already read, just to keep
> them on the shelves.
> --
> Janet
>
ago. Now I can't find it..."
I tend to sicc them on the ref librarian who chooses to toss the James
Audubon, etc., because they haven't been checked out in over two years.
Oh, yeah. That was fun!
We've had to repurchase a few things that were tossed, and I have a basement
full of goodies from the "withdrawn" cart.
kat >^.^<
passive aggressive once in a while
in Wisconsin
Rik Shepherd
> Actually, Mary, he's aware of the friendship between Collins and
> DIckens, so the existence of a current series about it, even though
> fiction, is a little tidbit he could use.
>
> He's got to be able to talk about him for 15 minutes, and every little
> bit helps. Thanks
The first is rather excessively titled
"The Detective and Mr Dickens.
Being an Account of the Macbeth Murders and the Strange Event Surroudning
Them.
A Secret Victorian Journal, Atrributed to Wilkie Collins, Discovered and
Edited by William J. Palmer"
and the second is
"The Highwayman and Mr Dickens
An Account of the Strange Events of the Medusa Murders
A Secret Victorian Journal, Atrributed to Wilkie Collins, Discovered and
Edited by William J. Palmer"
and there may or may not be more. I got our - as yet unread, I fear -
copies from a reduced price mail order place.
Jr@Ease
Thanks Rik.
John P
Joan
>> Instruction called BadgerLink at http://www.badgerlink.net/. Anyone
>> in Wisconsin can access it, and there are two lovely databases, Ebsco
>> and Proquest, with a gazillion magazine and newspaper sources (that
>> means you, Joan and Jon and Thelma and Jim). Your tax dollars, etc.
>> I *love* this thing. Not accessible from out of state, sorry.
>>
>> kat >^.^<
>> in Wisconsin
>
Thanks, Kat. I have the site bookmarked--and I will send it along to my
sister, the Mystery Maven Absoluta of Wisconsin, as soon as my AOL decides to
send emails out again. Grrrrr . . . .
Joan in GB-W
kat >^.^<
"Joan " <jjk...@aol.comnospam> wrote in message
news:20040303171554...@mb-m17.aol.com...
page was designed by morons.
kat >^.^<
in Wisconsin
Luke Croll
<box...@verizon.net> wrote:
>Jr@Ease wrote:
>> I need a little help for my son. He has been assigned Wilkie Collins
>> as a report topic for his English class. There is not a lot of stuff
>> out there, and he is only allowed one internet source. Most of his
>> info must come from books. He already has his internet sources.
>>
>> We went to the librry this evening an obtained a copy of the
>> "Moonstone" with a nice foreword written by PD James, and some
>> biographical pages copied out of a few reference books, but I figured
>> someone here might be able to point me to some other sources. He has
>> to come up with enough info to speak intelligently for 15 minutes.
>>
>> Since I'm told that Collins is known as the "father of the modern
>> detective novel" this is actually on topic!
>>
>> Thanks in advance.
>>
>> John P
>
>Well, the best source for scholarly discussion of his works would probably
>be the Modern Language Association catologue, an index of scholarly articles
>in a wide array of journals. You would likely only find this and the
>journals it indexes in a university or other research library. If there's a
>college near you, try calling their library reference staff.
I can access the journal articles online and so I could forward some
on, but they are quite large .PDF files that could clog up the inbox
quickly. As I said in my other post, the level of them is going to be
beyond that of high school English students, but you might find
something there....
Jr@Ease
wrote:
>
>>
>>Well, the best source for scholarly discussion of his works would probably
>>be the Modern Language Association catologue, an index of scholarly articles
>>in a wide array of journals. You would likely only find this and the
>>journals it indexes in a university or other research library. If there's a
>>college near you, try calling their library reference staff.
>
>I can access the journal articles online and so I could forward some
>on, but they are quite large .PDF files that could clog up the inbox
>quickly. As I said in my other post, the level of them is going to be
>beyond that of high school English students, but you might find
>something there....
The key word is scholarly. I think you're right Luke, my son will
probably find most if it over his head, since he's not even in high
school yet. Don't go to the trouble, but thanks for your offer. I
appreciate it.
John P
Janet Puistonen
> beyond that of high school English students,
Probably, but not necessarily! (Can recall using such sources for an
independent study in high school.)
Luke Croll
<box...@verizon.net> wrote:
>> As I said in my other post, the level of them is going to be
>> beyond that of high school English students,
>
>Probably, but not necessarily! (Can recall using such sources for an
>independent study in high school.)
That's impressive. I find some of the articles over my head these
days, and I'm finishing off a four-year BA course.
Janet Puistonen
> On Thu, 04 Mar 2004 15:15:05 GMT, "Janet Puistonen"
> <box...@verizon.net> wrote:
>
>>> As I said in my other post, the level of them is going to be
>>> beyond that of high school English students,
>>
>> Probably, but not necessarily! (Can recall using such sources for an
>> independent study in high school.)
>
> That's impressive. I find some of the articles over my head these
> days, and I'm finishing off a four-year BA course.
I have the feeling that such things were more comprehensible then.
Pre-deconstruction. <G>
Kat Richardson
I wish your son luck. It's a pity his internet cites are restricted, as
there's quite a bit about him online and it's easier to find than scouring
interlibrary loan. Collins hasn't had the staying power of Dickens or
Doyle.
--
Kat Richardson
Being educated is one thing. Getting a job is another.
http://www.eskimo.com/~strange/
Rik Shepherd
>
> I wish your son luck. It's a pity his internet cites are restricted, as
> there's quite a bit about him online and it's easier to find than scouring
> interlibrary loan. Collins hasn't had the staying power of Dickens or
> Doyle.
Except as the author of the Woman in White, and the Moonstone.
iirc, his tombstone just says "Wilkie Collins - author of the Woman in
White"
Kat Richardson
That's rather sad, considering they certainly weren't the only books he ever
wrote.
Rik Shepherd
> That's rather sad, considering they certainly weren't the only books he
ever
> wrote.
I'm going to have to look out the tape that this was mentioned on. I can't
remember whether he chose the epitaph himself, or whether his friends did.