Wilkie Collins and his novels

2024 Author: Leah Sherlock | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 05:25

Wilkie Collins is an English novelist known for sensational novels in which mysterious family lore, ghosts and improbable crimes take center stage. The plots of his novels are based on paradox, and Collins successfully chose "sensational" themes, captivating and dragging the reader into the world of his characters.

A little about the author

The son of a famous painter, Wilkie was born on January 8, 1824. The boy was educated at home. In 1835 he began to attend Maida Hill Academy, followed by a two-year break (the family traveled to Italy and France). Collins later said that Italy gave him more in terms of landscapes, people and paintings than he learned at school. Returning to England, he continued his studies at Cole's boarding school. It was here that he took place as a storyteller.

In 1841, Wilkie Collins left school to work for a tea company. In 1846 he studied law at Lincoln's Inn. In 1851 he became a member of the bar association, but this profession never interested him, althoughin several of his novels he gave lawyers a central place. Wilkie's father died in 1847, and a year later the writer's first book, Memoirs of the Life of William Collins, was published to critical acclaim.

Early novels

For a long time, Wilkie vacillated between a career as an artist and an author. Probably, this explains the mastery of picturesqueness in his works - they are full of descriptions of landscapes, everyday scenes, portraits, works of art. Starting his literary career with a biography of his father, Wilkie took up writing novels. First, a historical novel about the fall of Rome, Antonina, was written. He was followed by the novels Basil (1852), Hide and Seek (1854) and The Secret (1856).

In his early work, Wilkie Collins seeks to meet the reader's expectations, as he uses conflicts and themes previously used by well-known authors to remake them and create a sense of surprise. Beginning with the novels "Basil" (1852) and "Hide and Seek" (1854), the author's interest in modernity became noticeable. In these works, the detective element is strengthened, and the writer has the opportunity to expand the subject - these are the problems of education, love, social relations, religiosity, eternal fathers and children. It is in these novels that Collins creates meaningful characters.

Challenge novels

In 1860 and 1868, The Woman in White and The Moonstone came out. By this time, the writer had already become close with Dickens, took up editorial work, and together they created a number of plays. Books by Wilkie Collins "No Name""Armadele", "Without Exit", published respectively in 1862, 1864, 1867, are already distinguished by a strong motivation for the actions of the characters. Now the author turns not to literary sources, but to real documents, like a lawyer, primarily to court materials, which has a beneficial effect on the truthfulness of his characters. So, The Woman in White is based on a real lawsuit. In Moonstone, the writer's skill reaches its peak when several participants in the events look at what is happening as if from different angles.

Since the release of these books, Collins has gained fame as the founder of the sensational novel. The plot of such a novel is based on paradoxicality, on something unusual. By the beginning of the 20th century, it will practically go out of mass use. But Collins chose "sensational" themes: the girl was cured of blindness, but she refuses to see; the woman lived for many years with a married husband, but worldly law recognizes the wedding as invalid.

Interest in these novels does not fade even a century and a half later, as evidenced by the film adaptations of the works of Wilkie Collins, such as "Basil", "Moonstone", "Woman in White". The first of them was filmed in 1999, and the last one attracted the attention of filmmakers three times - in 1981, 1982 and 1997.

Woman Theme

At the end of the 19th century, the issue of women's emancipation occupied a large place in literature. Collins did not bypass the “women's issue” in his work. In the novel "Husband and Wife" (1870), the author draws the reader's attention to the problems of marriage law. “Law andwife” (1875) tells the story of a woman whose marital happiness now depends on whether the jury’s verdict “not proven” can be replaced with “not guilty”.

The work "The Black Cassock" tells about a young heir who got into religious networks. “The New Magdalene” (1873) is a story about a girl who has been left without support since childhood. Finding herself at the bottom of society, through pain and suffering, she tries to escape from a world alien to her.

The issues raised in these works are deepened by Wilkie Collins in Poor Miss Finch (1870), Miss or Mrs (1871). In Fallen Leaves (1879) the theme of ugly social morality is raised; in Heart and Science (1882) he opposes vivisection; in I Say No (1883), a woman has to fight for her reputation. The Evil Genius (1885), Guilty River (1886), Cain's Legacy (1888) are also full of psychologism and drama.

Intrigue for the reader

Critics recognized Collins as a master of action-packed storytelling. Many note that his novels are read in one sitting, and interest only increases. Each character in the story contributes to unraveling the intrigue, but its essence is revealed at the very end of the book. Writer Wilkie Collins keeps you on your toes even though the plot is simple.

Intrigue is not the main thing for the author, it is intended for the reader - it is a trap for involvement and part of everyday life from which the author borrows most of the plots. In addition to the detective component, Collins' novels are distinguished by romanticism, sometimes mysticism, grotesque andmelodrama. And “melodrama is an eternal essence,” as T. Eliot liked to repeat. The need for it is also eternal and must be satisfied. This is the popularity of the works of Wilkie Collins - he captures and holds the interest of the reader, and the work only boils with life when it is in the hands of the reader.