Wilke Collins A Brief Life by Peter Ackroyd (2015)

Wilkie Collins A Short Life by Peter Ackroyd could be described as just what you need in a biography when you want more than just the bare facts of Wikepedia but are not up for a massive work.  I have not read a lot of the very large output of Collins (1824 to 1879, England), having read just his most famous novel The Woman in White and one of his numerous short stories.  

Ackroyd, in his very pleasant style, starts at the beginning, with the parents of Collins.  He was born into an affluent though not fabulously wealthy family.  Collins was very close to his family.  We see how he begins his writing career.  Of course his parents were worried about the viability of this.

It was fascinating to see the nature of his very long enduring friendship with Charles Dickens.  They worked together on literary journals, I was I admit surprised to learn journals with the serial editions of now famous novels often sold over 100,000 copies.  Collins was for a good while the second highest earner among English authors of his day, behind Dickens.  Collins loved to enjoy himself, he liked women, for years he kept two mistresses, having children with them.  He never married though he took care of his children and was a decent father.  He liked living well and once his books and plays began to do well he always traveled first class.  He was what one might call a pleasure seeker or to use a word more likely to be employed in the 19th century than the 21st, he was a voluptuary.  He suffered medical problems including long bouts with gout, the rich man's disease of the period.  Some might see in his closeness to his mother and emotional dependence the reason for his not marrying.

Ackroyd does a very good job of weaving the plots of his novels into the life story.  I felt I knew Collins after reading the book.  He came across to me as a decent man without a lot of hang ups.  He liked to thumb his noise at the hypocrisy and prudery of Victorian England in his work and his life style.  

I recommend this book for anyone who finds the subject matter of interest.  

Mel u

"The Dead Alive" by Wilkie Collins

"The Dead Alive" by Wilkie Collins (1874, 15 pages-read on line)

Not to long ago I read and posted on Wilkie Collins (1824 to 1889-born in London)  master work, The Woman in White.  I liked it a lot, as did almost all of the many who have blogged on it in the last year, and knew I wanted to read some more of his work.   I am in the process of expanding my reading in the short story so I decided to read one of  the many short stories of Collins.    "The Dead Alive"  was originally published in a weekly publication run by his good friend Charles Dickens.   It is considered one of the first legal mystery stories, based on an actual case.   

"The Dead Alive" is told in the first person by an English attorney, Mr Lefrank.      He has just been advised by his doctor that he is headed for a complete breakdown from the strain of over work and needs a long rest away from his current enviorment.     At first he dismisses the advise but after suffering severe confusions while in court he comes to realize he does need a rest.   He has a distant relative in America, in New York State, whom he has never met but who has told him he is welcome at his farm.   

"It is merely a question of time," he went on. "You have a fine constitution; you are a young man; but you cannot deliberately overwork your brain, and derange your nervous system, much longer. Go away at once. If you are a good sailor, take a sea-voyage. The ocean air is the best of all air to build you up again. No: I don't want to write a prescription. I decline to physic you. I have no more to say."

As we can see, the style is straightforward Imperial British Empire Prose.

Mr Lefrank is met at the train station nearest the farm by Ambrose Meadowcroft, eldest son of the owner of the farm and a third cousin of the narrator.     The atmosphere at the farm is anything but relaxing.   The domestic management of the farm is left to the daughter of Mr Meadowcroft, the very stereotype of a bitter old maid.     Mr LaFrank   (something is made in the story of the families alteration of the name lessen its French origins)  is a lover of the work of Alexander Dumas (by the merest coincidence I will be posting on Georges by Dumas for the Classics Circuit on May 5)

Supper-time was still an event in the future. I lighted the candles and took from my portmanteau what I firmly believe to have been the first French novel ever produced at Morwick Farm. It was one of the masterly and charming stories of Dumas the elder. In five minutes I was in a new world, and my melancholy room was full of the liveliest French company. The sound of an imperative and uncompromising bell recalled me in due time to the regions of reality.

There are thinly veiled suggestions in "The Dead Alive" that American is a land of the insufficiently cultured.   The action of the story concerns various love triangles between a beautiful distant cousin, a farm hand, and the daughter and a murder mystery that comes from these relationships.  None of these affairs ever pass beyond a kiss.   This story is exciting and the ending is not  predictable so I will relay no more of the plot.   The story is very well told.   A complete believable world is created and we come to know the characters in the story, especially Mr Lefrank.    I would suggest that anyone who is on the fence about reading one of the long novels of Collins try a short story first.

I read this on line at  The Literature Network.   They have a lot of Collin's short stories on line as well as wealth of other reading matters.    There is no charge.   I personally prefer the format of Dailylit.com but The Literature Network is also a great resource.

I was motivated to read a short story by Wilkie Collins by the very good post on his story "Volpurno or The Student by Journey.


Mel u

"The Woman in White" by Wilkie Collins

The Woman in White by Wilkie Collins  (1860, 617 pages in Barnes and Noble Edition)

A Woman in White  seems to have really set the book blog world on fire recently.   It looks like it is  among the most blogged about 19th century books in 2009.   Everyone pretty much  really enjoyed reading it.   For the majority it is the first book of Wilkie Collins they have read and it seems his consensus master piece.   For a lot of readers it seems to be among their first Victorian novels.   This was my first Collins.

The narrative of The Woman in White is carried out by numerous individuals.   Each narrator stood out well.    The story kept my interest to the end.   In fact I found I liked the last 100 pages of the novel more than the rest.   I enjoyed the character of Count Fosco a lot.    Given the large number of posts on this work I am more or less just adding my voice to the chorus on this work.   There are a lot of good blog posts on this work.   I enjoyed this book a lot.    I liked hearing about secret societies and would have liked a bit more focus on that but maybe that is another book. 

Wilkie Collins was a very good friend of Charles Dickens.    The Woman in White was first published in serial fashion in a publication run by Dickens.   In fact, the younger brother of  Collins married the youngest daughter of Dickens.    It is said that Collins always felt his writings were not in the same category as those of Dickens.   I would have to say that he was right with the qualifier that the same could be said of nearly anyone!     I liked The Woman in White and I am glad I read it.   

I read this book book for these challenges

Mutual Reads (Victoria Novels)

Typically British Challenge

Chunkster Challenge (over 450 pages)

Wilkie Collins mini-challenge

Read Before I Die Challenge

New Authors Challenge (refers to new to the reader)