This collection of essays by international scholars celebrates the 200th anniversary of Wilkie Collins's birth by exploring his unconventional life alongside his works, critical responses to his writings and their afterlife, and the literary and cultural contexts which shaped his fiction. Topics discussed include gender, science and medicine, music, law, race and empire, media adaptations, neo-Victorianism, disability, and ethics. Along with an analysis of his novels, the essays included also recognize the importance of his short stories, journalism, and contributions to Victorian theatre, most notably illuminating the strong connections between sensation fiction and melodrama, as well as exploring his influence on film and TV. Engaging with yet also delving far beyond the famous novels, this volume promotes awareness of Collins' remarkable and diverse writerly achievements and paints a vivid portrait of an author whose fluctuating reputation among contemporary critics stands in stark contrast to his immense and still-enduring popularity.
Part I. Life and Works: 1. Life Melisa Klimaszewski; 2. Letters William Baker, Andrew Gasson, and Graham Law; 3. Publishers and editions Andrew Gasson; 4. Early novels Christopher Pittard; 5. Middle novels Tara MacDonald; 6. Late novels Maria K. Bachman; 7. Shorter fiction Graham Law; 8. Journalism Deborah Wynne; 9. Drama Caroline Radcliffe; Part II. Critical Response and Afterlife: 10. Contemporary James Aaron Green; 11. After death to T. S. Eliot James Aaron Green; 12. T. S. Eliot to 1990 Richard Nemesvari; 13. 1990 to the present Tim Dolin and Lucy Dougan; 14. Modern media adaptations Alexis Weedon; 15. Neo-victorianism Jessica Cox; Part III. Contexts: Literary: 16. Wilkie Collins's library William Baker; 17. Wilkie collins and serialization Catherine Delafield; 18. Wilkie Collins and sensation fiction Richard Nemesvari; 19. Wilkie Collins and Scott Lizhen Chen; 20. Wilkie Collins and Dickens Emily Bell; 21. Wilkie Collins, Mary Braddon, and other women writers Jeanette Roberts Shumaker; Part IV. Contexts: Cultural and Social: 22. Money Paul Lewis; 23. Gender Tamara S. Wagner; 24. Science and medicine Laurence Talairach; 25. Language Melissa Raines; 26. Collins and the artists Leonee Ormond; 27. Music Allan W. Atlas; 28. Politics Patricia Cove; 29. Law Anne-Marie Beller; 30.Geography and places Susan R. Hanes; 31. Victorian environments Mark Frost; 32. Race and empire Melisa Klimaszewski; 33. Class status and social identity Jenny Bourne Taylor; 34. Disability Heather Tilley; 35. Ethics Biwu Shang; Further Reading; Index.
William Baker is Distinguished Chair Qiantang River Professor, Hangzhou Normal University China, and Distinguished Professor Emeritus at Northern Illinois University. A scholar of British literature, he is the author and editor of numerous articles and books, including Wilkie Collins's Library: A Reconstruction (2002), A Wilkie Collins Chronology (2007), The Letters of Wilkie Collins (with William M. Clarke, 1999), The Public Face of Wilkie Collins: The Collected Letters (with Andrew Gasson, Graham Law and Paul Lewis, 2005) and The Collected Letters of Wilkie Collins (with Paul Lewis, Andrew Gasson and Graham Law, 2019). Richard Nemesvari is Professor of English and former Dean of Arts at Wilfrid Laurier University, Canada. He has published widely on Victorian fiction, including the works of Thomas Hardy, Wilkie Collins, Mary Elizabeth Braddon, and the Brontës. He is General Editor of the Cambridge Edition of the Novels and Stories of Thomas Hardy.
