This collection represents the common themes of Wilkie Collins’s writings: light-hearted stories, serious social commentary, and historical narratives. They range in subject from groaning over boring fiction to accounts of battles. The 24 essays and short fictions include many originally published in periodicals, such as “The Poisoned Meal” and “Memoirs of an Adopted Son.”
About the author
William Wilkie Collins (1824–1889) was considered the “godfather” of the detective novel. His “sensation novels” brought Collins great popularity in the Victorian era. He also focused on serious social and domestic issues. Collins published thirty novels (including The Woman in White), more than sixty short stories, and over a dozen plays, in addition to numerous nonfiction pieces.