These
books are listed in reverse date order
1.William Baker and William Clarke (eds), The
Letters of Wilkie Collins, 2 volumes, Macmillan, London 1999
ISBN 0-333-73247-2
These volumes are the first collected edition of Wilkie's letters. Sadly
the publisher decided to limit them in size and out
of the 2223 letters identified by the authors, only 464 are published in
full, with a further 127 letters summarised in the
text. However, Baker and Clarke do at least list the other 1632 letters
in two appendices that, together with the text,
form the first comprehensive handlist of Wilkie's letters. The editors
have been criticised for incorrect transciptions,
patchy notes, and some errors of fact. In addtion, a small number of easily
identifiable letters have been omitted.
Nevertheless, these two volumes give us a splendid insight into Wilkie's
life and times. Further volumes are planned,
probably with a different publisher.
2.Andrew Gasson, Wilkie Collins - An Illustrated
Guide, Oxford University Press, 1998
ISBN 0-19-866215-7
Gasson's guide is an A-Z encyclopaedia of Wilkie Collins's life and work.
The book has entries on every friend, relative,
and acquaintance of Collins; full details of the publishing history of
every book, story, and play; potted histories of
Victorian publishers and publishing practices; and contains comprehensive
bibliographical detail throughout. It also has
more than 200 illustrations, most published for the first time.
3.William M Clarke, The Secret Life of Wilkie Collins,
2nd edition, Alan Sutton, 1996
ISBN 0 7509 1208 1
William Clarke is the husband of Collins great-granddaughter Faith Elizabeth
Dawson and to a certain extent deals with
his life as a problem in family history. He has tracked down the full details
of Wilkie's relationships with his two partners,
Caroline Graves and Martha Rudd. The family connections gave him unique
access to some material. Includes many
photographs, a family tree, and details of Collins' bank account.
The first edition was published by W H Allen, London, 1988, ISBN 0 85031
960 9 and also in paperback by Alison
and Busby, London, 1989 ISBN 0 7490 0031 7
4.Jean Ruer, Wilkie Collins, Presses Universitaires
de Lille, 1995, ISBN 2-85939-381-1
Professor Jean Ruer wrote this book in 1976 as his doctoral thesis and
it was published posthumously by his colleagues
as a tribute to his work. It is a thorough and comprehensive review of
Collins's life and work, though a bit brief on the
post-1970 period. Written in French.
5.Catherine Peters, The King of Inventors,
Secker and Warburg, London 1991
ISBN 0 436 36712 2
Catherine Peters, an Oxford academic, has been everywhere and read everything.
Wonderful footnotes and the most
comprehensive bibliography of material about Collins. Lacks some detail
about his early work. Also in paperback
Minerva 1992 ISBN 0 7493 9817 5
6.Dorothy Leigh Sayers, Wilkie Collins: a biographical
and critical study, ed. E R Gregory, Toledo, Ohio, 1977.
Sadly, Dorothy Sayers did not finish this book before her death in 1957.
7.W H Marshall, Wilkie Collins, Twayne Publishers, Inc.,
New York, 1970
A short general study which concentrates mainly on listing his work and
summarizing the plots. No.94 in the Twayne
English Authors Series.
8.Nuel Pharr Davis, The Life of Wilkie Collins,
Urbana, Univeristy of Illinois Press, 1956
This book has been criticised for drawing too many inferences about Collins'
life from the plots and events of his books.
But it contains a lot of very useful information, especially in its copious
footnotes.
9.Robert Ashley, Wilkie Collins, London 1952
A brief general study which nevertheless contains some useful material.
10.Kenneth Robinson, Wilkie Collins, Bodley Head, London,
1951
The first book length biography of Collins and absolutely superb. Full
of detail but frustrating for its lack of sources.
Republished by Davis-Poynter, London, 1974.
11.S
M Ellis, Wilkie Collins, Le Fanu, and others, Constable, London 1931
The first chapter is a useful 53 page account of Wilkie's life but inevitably
lacks detail. Relies mainly on reminiscences. It
was at the time the only substantial account of his life in English. Contains
a shorter chapter on Wilkie's brother, Charles
Allston Collins. Re-issued in 1951 with no changes.
12.Hans
Sehlbach, Untersuchungen über die Romankunst von Wilkie Collins, Verlag
der Frommannschen
Buchhandlung (Walter Biedermann), Jena, 1931
The first book length study of Collins's work in the context of his life.
Written in German.
13.Ernst von Wolzogen, Wilkie Collins: Ein biographisch-kritischer Versuch, Unflad, Leipzig, 1885
take out from:www.webfic.com/mysthome/collins.htm
Academic year
2000/2001
© a.r.e.a./Dr.Vicente Forés López
© Mª del Mar Boluda Henares
Universitat de València Press
bohema@alumni.uv.es