I have a bit of a confession to make. I have only just "discovered" Wilkie Collins. And I'm not quite sure why it took me 26 years. I knew about his books, I read about them on other people's blogs, I watched the films of The moonstone and The woman in white, I even borrowed some of his books from the library for K to read. But I'd not read any of them myself. I think partly it was the fact that most of the editions I saw were v. dense with v. small writing.
I'm not quite sure what changed. I picked up a copy of The dead secret, which Hayley wrote about on her blog, partly after I discovered that it was set in Cornwall, one of my favourite places. I thought it might appeal to K, who hadn't been reading much at that time (he's got back into it now, and read 2 books in 3 days over the weekend). He got about 10 pages into it, started reading something else, and I, without a book to hand, started reading it. After all, as Hayley says in her post, "Autumn feels like the perfect season for Victoriana, particularly the sensational kind".
And what a read it was! The denseness and small writing didn't matter a jot as I was absolutely gripped and hooked into Wilkie Collins. I won't say much more about the plot as Hayley did an excellent job and you might as well read her review than me repeating her here.
I followed it up with Legacy of Cain, which was good, but not so as The dead secret, so I took it back to the library rather than leaving it for K to read (as he's still to reunite himself with The dead secret). I've got The haunted hotel to read next from the library, which seems perfect to read in the next ten days as we approach Halloween. But most of all I'm excited as he has a long back catalogue of books for me to work my way through.
Fellow Wilkie Collins fans, and I know there must be plenty reading this blog, because I've seen you writing about his books - which is your favourite one (apart from the two most famous - Woman in white/Moonstone...)?
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You shouldn't feel bad -- it took me 43 years to discover Wilkie Collins! I've only read The Woman in White and am now embarking on the Moonstone, but I've heard great things about Armandale. (If it makes you feel any better at all, I've also just now heard about Penelope Lively :) and have her The Bookshop queued up on my bedside table as well.)
ReplyDeleteOh Verity! You have so much fun in store!
ReplyDeleteMy personal favourite is No Name. This is because there is no central 'mystery' and it is all the better for it. I find his 'mystery' ones, like The Woman in White and The Moonstone, a bit annoying in that the mysteries are so easily solveable, and while the books are still fantastic, I like there to be a bit more detective work needed on the part of the reader. No Name is excellent and very gripping, plus has some interesting things to say about the place of women in Victorian society.
I have also heard excellent things about Armadale - I hear it is his best. If only I wasn't reading solely American literature this year, I'd have a stack of Collins on my beside table!
I'm so glad you've discovered him!
Isn't it fantastic discovering a new-to-you author, especially when they have such an extensive back catalogue?!
ReplyDeleteAs yet I have only read The Woman in White and The Moonstone AND -controversially- the latter is my favourite of those two. Somewhere I have a slim Hesperus volume of his short stories; look to them for less dense volumes of his work. I quite fancy No Name, Armadale and Poor Miss Finch; there are also the short stories he co-wrote with Dickens and Gaskell.
Collins is a treasure, and I absolutely second Rachel's recommendation of No Name. I finished it recently (review coming next week) and I'm in complete awe. I also agree with Claire about The Moonstone being slightly better than The Woman in White, but I adored both.
ReplyDeleteI loved 'No Name' and must read it again one of these days, I also like Man and Wife, and have heard great things about the haunted hotel... Pleased you enjoyed 'The Dead Secret' - another convert to the cause!
ReplyDeleteI love to see people discovering Wilkie Collins for the first time! The Woman in White is my favourite, but Armadale is a very close second. No Name and Poor Miss Finch are both wonderful too. I'm actually reading The Haunted Hotel at the moment as like you I thought it would be the perfect choice for Halloween :)
ReplyDeleteAnother vote for No Name! Rachel and I read this together as a read-along and it was also my first exposure to Collins, I absolutely loved it! The Woman in White turned out to be less than what I was expecting for some reason. From the hype, I expected it to be a bit spooky but it wasn't at all...oh well.
ReplyDeleteThe Dead Secret sounds like a winner, Verity, thanks for the heads up.
Got to be the spooky short stories. Published as "Tales of Terror & The Supernatural" selected & introduced by Herbert van Thal. perfect for the season.
ReplyDeleteVerity, I've loved Wilkie for years but this year I've been reading lots of his short stories especially the supernatural ones. Of the novels, apart from my favourite The Moonstone & TWIW, I'd recommend Armadale, wonderfully convoluted & with at least 4 characters called Allan Armadale. You'll be confused but enthralled! Hope you enjoy Haunted Hotel, I read it recently & it's very good.
ReplyDeleteI have never read any Collins but have a copy of the Moonstone which I should really dig out. I need something gripping so perhaps, like you, I should just get over the small writing!
ReplyDeleteOh how exciting. I think I probably preferred The Woman in White. But even more, I loved Armadale. You've reminded me I need to go read some more Collins!!
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