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Wilkie Collins

Peter Ackroyd · 2012

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About the book

Presents a short biography of the author of "The Moonstone" and "The Woman in White," two early masterpieces of mystery and detection. Short and oddly built, with a head too big for his body, extremely nearsighted, unable to stay still, dressed in colorful clothes, Wilkie Collins looked distinctly strange. But he was nonetheless a charmer, befriended by the great, loved by children, irresistibly attractive to women--and avidly read by generations of readers. Biographer Peter Ackroyd follows his hero, "the sweetest-tempered of all the Victorian novelists," from his childhood as the son of a well-known artist to his struggling beginnings as a writer, his years of fame and his lifelong friendship with the other great London chronicler, Charles Dickens. As well as his enduring masterpieces, including The Moonstone, often called the first true detective novel, he produced an intriguing array of lesser known works. This is an entertaining life of a great storyteller, full of surprises, rich in humor and sympathetic understanding.--Adapted from book jacket.

Book details

Year
2012
Language
English
Publisher
Chatto & Windus
Editions
3
Pages
199
ISBN
9780701169909

Data source: Wikidata

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