The Woman in White
The defining sensation novel and the clearest entry point into Collins's mature fiction.
Author guide
Wilkie Collins Books in Order
Wilkie Collins (1824–1889) was an English novelist and playwright associated with sensation fiction, mystery, and the development of detective fiction. He wrote more than twenty novels, numerous short stories and essays, eighteen plays, travel writing, biography, and collaborative works with Charles Dickens. His bibliography includes the posthumously published early novel Iolani and Blind Love, which was completed by Walter Besant after Collins's death.
novelsensation fictionmysterydetective fictionshort fictiondramaessaystravel writingbiography
Catalog record updated .
Not sure where to begin?
Start with one of these
The Moonstone: A Romance
A foundational mystery novel and an accessible introduction to Collins's detective fiction.
Outside the series
Bibliography by category
Novels (25)
- Antonina; or, The Fall of Rome
novel · 1850
The author draws on historical accounts of the final days of Rome and adds fictional characters and details to bring the time to life in more of a vignette form rather than a novel. Chapters include an account of the instigation of the…
- Mr. Wray's Cash-box; or, the Mask and the Mystery
novella · 1852
- Basil: A Story of Modern Life
novel · 1852
This is a pre-1923 historical reproduction that was curated for quality. Quality assurance was conducted on each of these books in an attempt to remove books with imperfections introduced by the digitization process. Though we have made…
- Hide and Seek; or, The Mystery of Mary Grice
novel · 1854
- The Dead Secret
novel · 1857
Wilkie Collins's fifth novel, The Dead Secret explores the relationship between a fallen woman, her illegitimate daughter and the recovery of a hidden secret. Set in rugged Cornwall, the novel blends romance with Gothic drama, and in…
- The Woman in White
novel · 1860
The Woman in White famously opens with Walter Hartright's eerie encounter on a moonlit London road. Engaged as a drawing master to the beautiful Laura Fairlie, Walter is drawn into the sinister intrigues of Sir Percival Glyde and his…
- No Name
novel · 1862
No Name is a 19th-century novel by the master of sensation fiction, Wilkie Collins. A country gentleman is killed in an accident and his wife dies shortly after him. The blow is double for their daughters, who discover that they were born…
- Armadale
novel · 1866
When the elderly Allan Armadale makes a terrible confession on his death-bed, he has little idea of the repercussions to come, for the secret he reveals involves the mysterious Lydia Gwilt: flame-haired temptress, bigamist, laudanum…
- The Moonstone: A Romance
novel · 1868
One of the first English detective novels, this mystery involves the disappearance of a valuable diamond, originally stolen from a Hindu idol, given to a young woman on her eighteenth birthday, and then stolen again. A classic of…
- Man and Wife
novel · 1870
On a summer's morning, between thirty and forty years ago, two girls were crying bitterly in the cabin of an East Indian passenger ship, bound outward, from Gravesend to Bombay.
- Poor Miss Finch
novel · 1872
You are here invited to read the story of an Event which occurred in an out-of-the-way corner of England, some years since.
- The New Magdalen
novel · 1873
- The Law and the Lady
novel · 1875
Three years ago, her husband stood accused of murder -- and the verdict that came in from the jury was the Scottish Verdict, Not Proven. The jury had not evidence enough to convict him -- nor enough to comfortably exonerate him. Eustace…
- The Two Destinies: A Romance
novel · 1876
One of Wilkie Collins's 'sensation' novels of two lovers who face a life of accidents and vicissitudes when they are parted cruelly as children. Unknown to each other as the children they once were, they meet again and again in their…
- The Fallen Leaves
novel · 1879
- A Rogue's Life: From His Birth to His Marriage
novel · 1879
I am going to try if I can't write something about myself. My life has been rather a strange one. It may not seem particularly useful or respectable; but it has been, in some respects, adventurous; and that may give it claims to be read,…
- The Black Robe
novel · 1881
- Heart and Science: A Story of the Present Time
novel · 1883
Wilkie Collins’s later novels are often as concerned with social issues as they are with simple storytelling—but as more and more critics are suggesting, the best of them are as readable and thought-provoking today as they were when they…
- The Evil Genius: A Domestic Story
novel · 1886
- The Guilty River
novella · 1886
- The Legacy of Cain
novel · 1888
When a condemned woman asks the local Minister to take her daughter home, the childless man is touched and finds himself unable to refuse. Yet the prisoner is unrepentant of the murder of her husband. Will her vices be passed on to this…
- Blind Love
novel · 1890
- Iolani, or Tahiti as It Was. A Romance
novel · 1999
Nonfiction (2)
- Memoirs of the Life of William Collins, Esq., R.A.
biography · 1848
- Rambles Beyond Railways; or, Notes in Cornwall Taken A-Foot
travel writing · 1851
Short fiction (6)
- After Dark
short-fiction collection · 1856
An anthology of short stories, Wilkie Collins's After Dark (1856) first appeared in 1852 in Household Words. The Traveller's Story follows the immature Faulkner to a gambling house in Paris. He sleeps in a bed that may cause his death.…
- The Queen of Hearts
short-fiction collection · 1859
Handsome King Ivan of Arramia has no wish to lose his freedom, despite advice to marry, but he agreed to marry at last--and trade his notorious affaires d'amour for affairs of state. Princess Zelie has been badgering her father to find…
- Miss or Mrs? and Other Stories in Outline
short-fiction collection · 1873
- The Frozen Deep and Other Stories
short-fiction collection · 1874
- The Haunted Hotel and My Lady's Money
short-fiction collection · 1879
- Little Novels
short-fiction collection · 1887
Essays and speeches (1)
- My Miscellanies
essay collection · 1863
Plays (13)
- A Court Duel
play · 1850
- The Lighthouse
play · 1855
- The Frozen Deep
play · 1857
The final crack at a play begun by Wilkie Collins and Charles Dickens, The Frozen Deep is inspired by the fateful Franklin Expedition, a naval voyage that was stranded in the Arctic in the 1840s, and is still making headlines today. Four…
- The Woman in White
play · 1860
- No Name
play · 1863
- Armadale
play · 1866
- Man and Wife
play · 1870
- The New Magdalen
play · 1873
- Miss Gwilt
play · 1875
- The Moonstone
play · 1877
One of the first English detective novels, this mystery involves the disappearance of a valuable diamond, originally stolen from a Hindu idol, given to a young woman on her eighteenth birthday, and then stolen again. A classic of…
- The Red Vial
play · 1858
- Rank and Riches
play · 1883
- The Evil Genius
play · 1885
Collaborations (3)
- No Thoroughfare
co-authored play · 1867
- Black and White
co-authored play · 1869
- The Lazy Tour of Two Idle Apprentices
co-authored fiction · 1890
A story based on Dickens's and Collins's walking tour in the north of England.
Frequently asked questions about Wilkie Collins
Who was Wilkie Collins?
William Wilkie Collins (1824–1889) was an English Victorian novelist best known for sensation fiction, mystery, and early detective fiction.
Sources: npg.org.uk (opens in a new tab)english-heritage.org.uk (opens in a new tab)
What is Wilkie Collins best known for?
He is best known for The Woman in White and The Moonstone, landmark works of Victorian sensation and detective fiction.
Sources: npg.org.uk (opens in a new tab)research.aber.ac.uk (opens in a new tab)
How did Charles Dickens influence Wilkie Collins's career?
Dickens became Collins's close friend, collaborator, and professional colleague after they met in 1851. He brought Collins into the world of Household Words and collaborated with him on fiction and drama.
Sources: dickensmuseum.com (opens in a new tab)dickensmuseum.com (opens in a new tab)
Did Wilkie Collins work as a lawyer before becoming a writer?
He trained as a lawyer and was called to the bar, but he abandoned the profession for writing. His legal knowledge later informed many of his plots and themes.
Sources: npg.org.uk (opens in a new tab)ulib.niu.edu (opens in a new tab)
Why is Wilkie Collins important to detective fiction?
The Moonstone is regarded as an early detective novel, and Collins's methods influenced later writers including Arthur Conan Doyle and Agatha Christie.
Sources: npg.org.uk (opens in a new tab)um.edu.mt (opens in a new tab)