Death of Wilkie Collins

Feilding Star, Volume XI, Issue 44, 26 September 1889, Page 3

Death of Wilkie Collins

By Electric Te'egraph. — Copyright, (per united press association.) London, September 23. ■ Obituary — Wilkie Collins, the wellknown novelist. fNot only in the outer world but in these colonies the name of Wilkie Collins is a household word, and there are few families who do not possess or have read one or mo c of his fucinating romances. William Wilkie Collins, a well-known yaJntec of ru.-tic 4 enes, was born iv London in Jauuary, 1824. He was educated at a private school, and after spending two years with his parents in Italy, was articled for four years to a firm in the tea trade. Exchanging commerce for law, he was a studeut at Lincoln's Inn at the time of his father's death, and his earliest literary performance was an admirable biography of his father, with selections from his jour* nals and correspondence, published in two volumes, 1848. From that time Mr Collins devoted himself entirely to literature. He published a large uumber of novels, the principal of which are "The Woman in White," "No Name," "Armadale," "The Moonstone," " Man and Wife," " Miss or Mrs," " The New Magdalen," "The Evil Genius." Like the late Charles Dickens, many of his works were an exposition of existing abuses, and in several eases they fulfilled a mission. Sereral of his works were dramatised and produced with considerable success. His novels were distinguished by his marvellous ingenuity in the construction of plots. Mr Collins some few months ago suffered from a stroke from which he never recovered.]