Wilkie Collins (Authors in Context) (Oxford World's Classics)

In a literary career spanning over forty years, Wilkie Collins wrote over twenty novels, several plays, and numerous short stories. However, he is mainly remembered for his best-selling sensation novel The Woman in White . Irregular liasons, the chaotic state of the marriage laws, social and psychological identity, and the interconnections between respectable society and the world of crime are recurring themes in Collins's fiction. In this lively, accessible, and critically topical exploration of his novels, Lyn Pykett looks at Collins's long and varied career in relation to the changing circumstances of his own life, a changing literary marketplace, and the changing worlds of nineteenth-century Britain, as well as his enduring legacy for modern writers and interpreters. The volume includes a chronology of Collins's life and times, a comprehensive index, websites, illustrations, and suggestions for further reading. About the Series: For over 100 years Oxford World's Classics has made available the broadest spectrum of literature from around the globe. Each affordable volume reflects Oxford's commitment to scholarship, providing the most accurate text plus a wealth of other valuable features, including expert introductions by leading authorities, voluminous notes to clarify the text, up-to-date bibliographies for further study, and much more.