Wilkie Collins

Broschiertes Buch

Basil

the inspiration for the modern detective novel (Aziloth Books)

Beschreibung

Wilkie Collins' novel 'Basil' is regarded as the inspiration for the later 'sensation novel' and ultimately today's 'detective genre'. The book produced a furore when first published in 1852, Shocked by this frank tale of secret marriage, betrayal, madness and mortality, the critics and self-appointed upholders of Victorian values tore into the work, describing the book as 'a tale of criminality, almost revolting from its domestic horrors. The vicious atmosphere ... weighs on us like a nightmare'. Seen from today's perspective 'Basil' is a perceptive exploration of nineteenth-century sexuality and social class. It is also a gripping psychological thriller which, as the eponymous hero tells us, "... is the story of an error, innocent in its beginning, guilty in its progress, and fatal in its results".

Autor

William Wilkie Collins was an English novelist and playwright best known for The Woman in White (1859), a mystery and early sensation novel, and The Moonstone (1868), which established many of the ground rules of the modern detective novel and may be the first clear example of the police procedural genre. Born to London painter William Collins and his wife, Harriet Geddes, he moved to Italy with them when he was twelve years old, spending two years there and in France learning both Italian and French. Collins was born at 11 New Cavendish Street in London, the son of William Collins, a well-known Royal Academician landscape painter, and his wife, Harriet Geddes. Named after his father, he quickly became recognized by his second name, which honors his godfather, painter David Wilkie. The family relocated to Pond Street, Hampstead, around 1826. In 1828, Collins' brother Charles Allston Collins was born. Between 1829 and 1830, the Collins family relocated twice: first to Hampstead Square and subsequently to Porchester Terrace in Bayswater. Wilkie and Charles received an early education from their mother at home. The Collins family was very religious, and Collins' mother insisted on strict church attendance for her boys, which Wilkie detested.

Produktdetails

• Verlag: Aziloth Books
• Seitenzahl: 226
• Erscheinungstermin: 3. April 2013
• Englisch
• Abmessung: 229mm x 152mm x 12mm
• Gewicht: 335g
• ISBN-13: 9781909735002
• ISBN-10: 1909735000
• Artikelnr.: 38029837