Review
In the wake of renewed interest in Collins, this work reconstructs the Victorian author's library, with the goals of understanding "Collins as a reader through an analysis of the books he owned and his response to them" and presenting details of 19th-century source material....an important addition to Collins scholarship. Recommended for libraries with large literature collections or that support study of Victorian literature.Choice

Book Description
Wilkie Collins (1824-1889) is a major British Victorian novelist, dramatist, short story writer, and journalist. He has been the subject of two recent biographies, and a revival of interest in his works is now under way. An indispensable reference for scholars interested in Collins and Victorian literature, this book includes a narrative discussion of the contents of his library and its auction and provides annotated entries for individual items. In reconstructing his library, this reference offers a thorough analysis of the books he owned and his response to them and thus illuminates Collins as a reader and writer.

About the Author
WILLIAM BAKER is Professor, Department of English, and Professor, University Libraries, at Northern Illinois University. His previous books include Recent Work in Critical Theory, 1989-1995: An Annotated Bibliography (1996), Twentieth-Century Bibliography and Textual Criticism: An Annotated Bibliography (2000), and A Companion to the Victorian Novel (2002), all available from Greenwood Press. He also coedited The Letters of Wilkie Collins (1999), and has been awarded a National Endowment for the Humanities Fellowship for 2002-2003 to edit another three volumes of Wlkie Collins's letters.

FROM THE PUBLISHER

Wilkie Collins (1824-1889) is a major British Victorian novelist, dramatist, short story writer, and journalist. He has been the subject of two recent biographies, and a revival of interest in his works is now under way. An indispensable reference for scholars interested in Collins and Victorian literature, this book includes a narrative discussion of the contents of his library and its auction and provides annotated entries for individual items. In reconstructing his library, this reference offers a thorough analysis of the books he owned and his response to them and thus illuminates Collins as a reader and writer.

SYNOPSIS

Overviews the contents and auction of Collins's library and includes annotated entries for individual items.

FROM THE CRITICS

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