Mystery and Crime Collins, Wilkie: After Dark. v1. 04 July 07

[Dr. Drib]

Wilkie Collins is a wonderful writer of novels and short stories, works that combine atmosphere and dense, enjoyable plotting with engaging characterization. He was a friend to Charles Dickens (even collaborating on one book). His later books are often viewed as less successful than his earlier books; but even so, I find all his writing exciting. I should explain that I love Victorian literature. [See the Elizabeth Braddock I transcribed earlier (Thanks for that word, Patricia!).]

After Dark is a series of "framed" short stories, centering aound an artist who is losing his sight. However, he has wonderful stories to tell, stories that touch upon varying genres - and then dictates them to his wife.

Here's a quote:

His works were classified at the time as 'sensation novels', a genre seen nowadays as the precursor to detective fiction and suspense fiction. He also wrote penetratingly on the plight of women and on the social and domestic issues of his time. Like many writers of his time, he published most of his novels as serials in magazines such as Dickens's All the Year Round, and was known as a master of the form, creating just the right degree of suspense to keep his audience reading from week to week.

I hope you like it.

Don

This work is assumed to be in the Life+70 public domain OR the copyright holder has given specific permission for distribution. Copyright laws differ throughout the world, and it may still be under copyright in some countries. Before downloading, please check your country's copyright laws. If the book is under copyright in your country, do not download or redistribute this work.

To report a copyright violation you can contact us here.