NON-FICTION

Books

  1. Memoirs of the Life of William Collins Esq., R.A. First published in 1848, Memoirs was Wilkie's first published book. He interrupted his work on Antonina to write this tribute to his father's life after William's unexpected death on 17 February 1847. The text contains links to the frontispiece portrait by John Linnell and the two half title pages illustrated with engravings based on William's work. The e-text is taken from the original - and only - 1848 edition and includes Wilkie's Appendix giving the list of William's works taken from his own records and a list of published engravings taken from them.
  2. Rambles Beyond Railways First published 1851 This e-text is from the second 1852 edition. Almost identical to the 1851 edition it includes some editorial updates by Collins. It can be downloaded in html and pdf formats and with or without images of the 12 illustrations by Brandling. Later editions omitted two of the chapters and the illustrations and included 'The Cruise of the Tomtit', which is available separately as an e-text.

Collection
Only one collection of Collins's non-fiction was published during his lifetime. My Miscellanies 1863 contained 25 essays drawn from his work for Household Words and All The Year Round together with a preface. The items were edited and many were shortened for publication in book form. A US version was published in 1874 in New York by Harper and a second edition was published in London in 1875, omitting 'Dramatic Grub Street'.

MY MISCELLANIES-1863. This e-text is from the Peter Fenelon Collier edition, New York c1895
    The reprinted pieces are all changed to a greater or lesser degree by Collins from the original and have US spellings and on occasion vocabulary.

  1. Preface First published in My Miscellanies 1863
  2. The Bachelor Bedroom First published in All The Year Round 6 August 1859 I 355-360
  3. Bold Words by a Bachelor First published in Household Words 13 December 1856 XIV 505-507
  4. The Cauldron of Oil First published in All The Year Round 11 May 1861 V 162-168
  5. Douglas Jerrold First published in Household Words 5 February 1859 XIX 217-222
  6. Dramatic Grub Street First published in Household Words 6 March 1858 XVII 265-270
  7. Give us Room! First published in Household Words 13 February 1858 XVII 193-196
  8. The Great (Forgotten) Invasion First published in Household Words 12 March 1859 XIX 337-341
  9. A Journey in Search of Nothing First published in Household Words 5 September 1857 XVI 217-223
  10. Laid up in Lodgings First published in Household Words 7 &14 June 1856 481-486 & 517-523
  11. Memoirs of an Adopted Son First published in All The Year Round 24 April 1861 V 90-96
  12. Mrs Badgery First published in Household Words 26 September 1857 XVI 289-293
  13. Mrs Bullwinkle First published in Household Words 17 April 1858 XVII 409-411
  14. My Black Mirror First published in Household Words 6 September 1856 XIV 169-175
  15. My Spinsters First published in Household Words 23 August 1856 XIV 121-126
  16. Portrait of an author, painted by his publisher First published in All The Year Round 18 & 25 June 1859 184-189 & 205-210
  17. Pray Employ Major Namby! First published in All The Year Round 4 June 1859 I 136-141
  18. A Queen's Revenge First published in Household Words 15 August 1857 XVI 156-162
  19. A Petition to the Novel-Writers First published in Household Words 6 December 1856 XIV 481-485
  20. The Poisoned Meal First published in Household Words 18, 25 September & 2 October 1858 XVIII 313-318, 347-352, & 380-384
  21. A Remarkable Revolution First published in Household Words 1 August 1857 XVI 100-104
  22. Save Me From My Friends First published in Household Words 16 January 1858 XVII 97-102
  23. A Shockingly Rude Article First published in Household Words 28 August 1858 XVIII 241-245
  24. Talk-Stoppers First published in Household Words 25 October 1856 XIV 337-342
  25. To Think or Be Thought For First published in Household Words 13 September 1856 XIV 193-198
  26. The Unknown Public First published in Household Words 21 August 1858 217-222

Household Words
Wilkie Collins wrote 40 non-fiction pieces for Dickens's periodical Household Words. About half of those were collected in My Miscellanies (London 1863) but all were edited and abridged by Collins for that re-publication to a greater or lesser extent. This section brings together for the first time all Collins's non-fiction in Household Words from the original text. They are arranged in date order. Some of the pieces are re-written historical tales and have on occasion been republished as fiction.

  1. 22 December 1855 The Cruise of the Tomtit - An account of a trip to the Scilly Isles. XII 490-499
  2. 7 and 14 June 1856 Laid Up in Two Lodgings - Contrasting experiences of illness in Paris and London.
    XIII 481-486, 517-523
  3. 23 August 1856 My Spinsters - Satire on the lengths to which unmarried women go to make themselves marriageable
    XIV 121-126
  4. 6 September 1856 My Black Mirror - Travelling around continental Europe is beset with problems, he would rather sail.
    XIV 169-175
  5. 13 September 1856 To Think or Be Thought For? An attack on works of art by Michaelangelo and Raphael which are loved by the art establishment.
    XIV 193-198.
  6. 25 October 1856 Talk-stoppers A satire on the poor conversational gambits of contemporary dinner party guests.
    XIV 337-342
  7. 25 October 1856 The National Gallery and the Old Masters How much of Velasquez's Boar Hunt (now called La Tela Real) has been repainted?
    XIV 347-348.
  8. 6 December 1856 A Petition to the Novel Writers Likes and dislikes in current novels.
    XIV 481-485
  9. 13 December 1856 Bold Words by a Bachelor Why do married women estrange their husbands from their old male friends?
    XIV 505-507
  10. 18 July 1857 A Fair Penitent A historical account by an actress of becoming a nun. 
    XVI 55-59
  11. 1 August 1857 A Remarkable Revolution A historical account of the bloodless revolution when Elizabeth ascended to the Russian throne in 1741.
    XVI 100-104
  12. 15 August 1857 A Queen's Revenge A historical account of Queen Christina of Sweden and her murder of her equerry.
    XVI 156-162
  13. 5 September 1857 A Journey in Search of Nothing A busy man cannot rest as the doctor orders - no peace in a village; and boredom by the sea.
    XVI 217-223
  14. 19 September 1857 The Debtor's Best Friend The relative merits of Newgate and the debtor's prison in the eighteenth century.
    XVI 279-282
  15. 26 September 1857 Mrs Badgery A grieving widow inhabits his new house in remembrance of her husband. How to get rid of her?
    XVI 289-293
  16. 2 January 1858 Deep Design on Society Social satire in the guise of a review of Things Not Generally Known by John Timbs. Also reproduced in original columns.
    XVII 49-53
  17. 9 January 1858 The Little Huguenot Historical account of the escape of a boy from the massacre of Huguenots by Catholics in Paris in 1572.
    XVII 80-84
  18. 16 January 1858 Save Me from My Friends The perils of friends, and the difficulties of writing in the countryside.
    XVII 97-102
  19. 23 January 1858 Thanks to Dr. Livingstone A rave review of Travels in South Africa by Livingstone and how it made him feel about himself.
    XVII 121-125
  20. 6 February 1858 Strike! Calls for consumer boycotts to get safer trains, less crowded omnibuses, more comfortable theatres and lower school fees.
    XVII 169-172
  21. 13 February 1858 Give Us Room! A satire on crinolines and parties and why are they not held in large rooms.
    XVII 193-196
  22. 27 February 1858 A Sermon for Sepoys An allegorical tale supposed to be of Indian origin. An introduction by Prof. Philip Allingham. NB the original text of this piece on the VictorianWeb site contains some omissions and errors.
    XVII 244-247
  23. 6 March 1858 Dramatic Grub Street. Explored in Two Letters Deploring the poor pay for writing plays compared with writing novels and compared with the situation in France and other countries.
    XVII 265-270
  24. 20 March 1858 A Shy Scheme Why not produce a Bachelor's Handbook to help shy men with the problems of proposing?
    XVII 313-316
  25. 27 March 1858 Awful Warning to Bachelors The insults to men of courtship and the wedding.
    XVII 337-340
  26. 17 April 1858 Mrs. Bullwinkle A ravenous post-natal nurse eats him out of house and home.
    XVII  409-411
  27. 21 August 1858 The Unknown Public A description of the millions who read the penny journals and their potential as a new audience for good writing.
    XVIII 217-222
  28. 28 August 1858 A Shockingly Rude Article Women can be Bores as much as men, with examples.
    XVIII 241-245
  29. 4 September 1858 Sea Breezes with the London Smack the seaside is just like London-on-sea with the same annoyances, food, entertainment, and habits.
    XVIII 274-277.
  30. 18, 25 September, & 2 October 1858 The Poisoned Meal A historical tale about a false accusation of murder in pre-revolutionary France.
    XVIII 313-318, 347-352, & 380-384.
  31. 2 October 1858 Highly Proper! Complains that private schools refuse to take the children of actors.
    XVIII 361-363
  32. 9 October 1858 A Clause for the New Reform Bill Calling for changes in the way the Queen is greeted when she visits towns. (perhaps in part with Charles Dickens - see note at end of item).
    XVIII 385-387
  33. 18 December 1858 Doctor Dulcamara, M.P. An attack on Sidney Herbert and on The Heir of Redclyffe  (with changes suggested by Dickens - see note at end of item).
    XIX 49-52
  34. 15 January 1859 Pity a Poor Prince Treat Prince Alfred like a midshipman not a Prince when he stops in ports.
    XIX 145-147
  35. 5 February 1859 Douglas Jerrold An account of Jerrold's life taken largely from his son's biography
    XIX 217-222
  36. 12 February 1859 Burns. Viewed as a Hat-Peg Celebrations of Burns night raise no money for his surviving daughter.
    XIX 241-243
  37. 26 February 1859 A Column to Burns An introductory paragraph to a response by a reader to his last
    XIX 306
  38. 12 March 1859 The Great (Forgotten) Invasion of Wales by the French army  in March 1797 and their immediate surrender
    XIX 337-341
  39. 19 March 1859 A Breach of British Privilege Un-British comfort at the new Adelphi Theatre
    XIX 361-364
  40. 28 May 1859 A Dramatic Author A sympathetic account of an actor's autobiography
    XIX     609-610

 

Separate non-fiction pieces from other original sources
This list is in chronological order but does not include the many items which are not available as e-texts. Much of his work in The Leader remains to be e-texted and some identification work needs to be done on what Collins wrote there. There is also some doubt about exactly what he wrote in All The Year Round.

1.      A Pictorial Tour to St. George Bosherville a painting trip. First published Bentley's Miscellany XXIX May 1851

2.      The Exhibition of the Royal Academy. Review of the 1851 Summer Exhibition. First published Bentley's Miscellany XXIX June 1851

3.      A Plea for Sunday reform Polemical work calling for art galleries to be opened on Sundays. First published in The Leader 27 September 1851 vol II, no.79 pp925-926

4.      Magnetic Evenings at Home First published The Leader January-March 1852

5.      Prefaces to The Woman in White including the preface to the French translation La Femme en Blanc

6.      American hospitality. Wilkie Collins's speech to the Lotos Club, New York City, 27 September 1873. First published in Modern Eloquence: I, After Dinner Speeches, A-D, ed. Thomas Reed, John D Morris [1900], Philadelphia

7.      Considerations on the Copyright Question Addressed to an American Friend. Diatribe against the lack of international copyright law in the USA. First published in International Review June 1880

8.      Books Necessary for a Liberal Education A short essay in answer to a piece on books that should be read recommending his favourites. First published Pall Mall Gazette, 11 February 1886, p2

9.      How I Write My Books A short account of the méthode Collins. First published in The Globe 26 November 1887, pp. 511-514

10.  Reminscences of a Story-teller An autobiographical piece first published in Universal Review 15 June 1888 p.183

Letters
More than 3000 letters written by Wilkie Collins are known but very few are available as e-texts. However, 59 of Wilkie's letters are available on these pages. The authors of The Public Face of Wilkie Collins have a long-term project to make all his letters available on CD-ROM.

 

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