Wilkie Collins was one of the most popular writers of the nineteenth century. He is best known for The Woman in White, which inaugurated the sensation novel in the 1860s, and The Moonstone, one of the first detective novels; but he wrote over 20 novels, plays and short stories during a career that spanned four decades. This Companion offers a fascinating overview of Collins's writing. In a wide range of essays by leading scholars, it traces the development of his career, his position as a writer and his complex relation to contemporary cultural movements and debates. Collins's exploration of the tensions which lay beneath Victorian society is analysed through a variety of critical approaches. A chronology and guide to further reading are provided, making this book an indispensable guide for all those interested in Wilkie Collins and his work.

Introduction Jenny Bourne Taylor; 1. Collins's career and the visual arts Tim Dolin; 2. The early writing Anthea Trodd; 3. Collins's shorter fiction John Bowen; 4. Collins and the sensation novel Lyn Pykett; 5. The Moonstone, detective fiction and forensic science Ronald R. Thomas; 6. The later novels Jenny Bourne Taylor; 7. The professional writer and the literary marketplace Graham Law; 8. The marriage plot and its alternatives Carolyn Dever; 9. Collins and Victorian masculinity John Kucich; 10. Collins and empire Lillian Nayder; 11. Disability and difference Kate Flint; 12. Collins and the theatre Jim Davis; 13. The afterlife of Wilkie Collins Rachel Malik; Guide to further reading; Index. 11. Disability and difference Kate Flint; 12. Collins and the theatre Jim Davis