both at front and back, printed on the buff wrapper paper.
NOTES ON THE PLATES.
(i) No plates were issued with Part IX., but six instead of
three with Part X. A slip should be found inserted in Part
IX. calling attention to the arrangement. My own set shows a
similar happening in the case of Parts VII. and VIII., but
there is no sign of a slip having figured in the former to
explain the absence of illustration.
(ii) In two cases there are variations in underline between
part and book issue: (_a_) One of the plates included in
Part XI. is entitled “The Euphrosyne in the Downs,” but this
legend is omitted altogether in some copies of the book.
(_b_) Included in Part XII. is a plate entitled “The Prize
at Sheerness.” This underline reads in most copies of the
book “The Prize in The Medway.” Collectors anxious to
possess the actual first issue of the book—_i.e._, that
bound up from actual parts—should examine these two points
in copies they consider purchasing.
1840
OLLA PODRIDA. By the author of _Peter Simple_ etc. etc. London:
Longman, Orme, Brown, Green and Longmans, Paternoster Row. 1840. 3
vols. Ex. Cr. 8vo (4¾ × 7¾).
Vol. I. pp. vi + (ii) + 310.
Vol. II. pp. (iv) + 362 + (2).
Vol. III. pp. (iv) + 332.
Paper boards (half cloth), paper label. White end-papers. Also
issued in ribbed maroon cloth, gilt. Yellow end-papers.
There is no contents list to Volume I. The complete contents
are: Diary on the Continent—The Monk of Seville (a
play)—S.W. and by W. ¾ W.—Ill-Will (a charade)—The Sky-Blue
Domino—Modern Town Houses—The Way to be Happy—How to Write a
Fashionable Novel—How to Write a Book of Travels—How to
Write a Romance—The Legend of the Bell Rock—Moonshine.
NOTE—This book was published on December 1, 1840. Of the
contents the “Diary on the Continent” appeared serially in
the “Metropolitan Magazine” (see above, _Diary of a Blasé_,
1836), and the shorter pieces partly in the same journal,
partly in the “New Monthly,” and one (“Moonshine”) in _The
Keepsake_ (see above, _Stories of the Sea_, 1836).
1841/2
MASTERMAN READY OR THE WRECK OF THE PACIFIC. Written for Young People.
By CAPTAIN MARRYAT. London: Longman, Orme, Brown, Green and
Longmans, Paternoster Row. 1841 (Vol. I.), 1842 (Vols. II. and
III.). 3 vols. in all. Fcap. 8vo (4¼ × 6¾).
Vol. I. pp. viii + 287 + (1). Publishers' catalogue, 16 pp., dated
February, 1841, bound in at end.
Vol. II. pp. (iv) + 269 + (3). Publishers' catalogue, 16 pp. (maybe
two catalogues each of 16 pp.), dated April, 1842, bound in at end
or, in some cases, after first front end-paper.
Vol. III. pp. (iv) + 225 + (3). Publishers' catalogue, 30 pp., dated
October, 1842, bound in at end.
Each volume contains frontispiece (that to Vol. III. is a map) and
several text illustrations, wood engraved and printed on text paper.
Dark green cloth, gilt, blocked in blind. Yellow end-papers.
NOTES—(i) Vol. I. was published in May, 1841; Vol. II. in
April, 1842; and Vol. III. in December, 1842.
(ii) Because the book was first planned to occupy one volume
only, there is no indication on Vol. I. of its being the
first of a series. Vols. II. and III., however, are so
described on title-page and on binding.
(iii) Vol. I. was catalogued on its publication as bound in
“boards.” This indicates that copies were first issued with
paper label and in half cloth, but I have never seen one so
bound.
1841
JOSEPH RUSHBROOK: Or THE POACHER. By the author of _Peter Simple_.
London: Longman, Orme, Brown, Green and Co., Paternoster Row. 1841.
3 vols. Ex. Cr. 8vo (4¾ × 7¾).
Vol. I. pp. viii + 275 + (1).
Vol. II. pp. viii + 293 + (3).
Vol. III. pp. viii + 269 + (7). Advertisements of works by the same
author occupy pp. (270) to (276).
Paper boards, half cloth, paper label. White end-papers.
NOTE—This book was published in June, 1841. The story
appeared serially in “The Era.”
1842
PERCIVAL KEENE. By CAPTAIN MARRYAT, author of _Peter Simple_, _Jacob
Faithful_ etc. etc. London: Henry Colburn, Publisher, Great
Marlborough Street. 1842. 3 vols. Ex. Cr. 8vo (4¾ × 7¾).
Vol. I. pp. (iv) + 293 + (3).
Vol. II. pp. (iv) + 279 + (1).
Vol. III. pp. (iv) + 315 + (1).
Paper boards, half cloth, paper label. White end-papers.
NOTE—This book was published in August, 1842.
1843
NARRATIVE OF THE TRAVELS AND ADVENTURES OF MONSIEUR VIOLET IN
CALIFORNIA, SONORA AND WESTERN TEXAS. Written by CAPTAIN MARRYAT,
C.B. London: Longman, Brown, Green and Longmans, Paternoster Row.
1843. 3 vols. Ex. Cr. 8vo (4¾ × 7¾).
Vol. I. pp. viii + 312.
Vol. II. pp. (iv) + 318 + (2).
Vol. III. pp. (iv) + 299 + (1).
Folding map faces title-page of Vol. I. Paper boards, half cloth,
paper label. White end-papers.
NOTE—This book was published in October, 1843.
1844
THE SETTLERS IN CANADA: Written for Young People. By CAPTAIN MARRYAT.
London: Longman, Brown, Green and Longmans, Paternoster Row. 1844. 2
vols. Fcap. 8vo (4⅛ × 6¾).
Vol. I. pp. (iv) + 356. Publishers' catalogue, 32 pp., undated or
dated September, 1844, or earlier, bound in at end.
Vol. II. pp. (iv) + 374 + (2).
Each volume contains frontispiece in wood engraving printed on text
paper. Grey-brown cloth, gilt, blocked in blind. Pale yellow
end-papers.
NOTES—(i) This book was published on September 7, 1844. It
is possible that the earliest issue contained an undated
catalogue, but this can only be established by comparison
between a larger number of copies of the book than I have
contrived to examine, and a careful investigation of the
books listed in any such undated catalogue.
(ii) I have seen an announcement of this book as in
“boards,” but have never met with copies so bound.
1845
THE MISSION: OR SCENES IN AFRICA. Written for Young People. By CAPTAIN
MARRYAT. London: Longman, Brown, Green and Longmans. Paternoster
Row. 1845. 2 vols. Fcap. 8vo (4¼ × 6¾).
Vol. I. pp. (vi) + 328. Publishers' catalogue, 32 pp. and undated,
bound in at end.
Vol. II. pp. (iv) + 374 + (2).
Each volume contains frontispiece in wood engraving, printed on text
paper. Vol. I. contains, following title and also on text paper, a
map. Brown cloth, gilt, blocked in blind. Pale yellow end-papers.
NOTE—This book was published in June, 1845.
1846
THE PRIVATEER'S-MAN: ONE HUNDRED YEARS AGO. By CAPTAIN MARRYAT, R.N.
London: Longman, Brown, Green and Longmans, Paternoster Row. 1846. 2
vols. Fcap. 8vo (4¼ × 6¾).
Vol. I. pp. (iv) + 379 + (1). Publishers' catalogue, dated July,
1846, or earlier, bound in at end.
Vol. II. pp. (iv) + 361 + (1).
Grey-green cloth, gilt, blocked in blind. Yellow end-papers.
NOTE—This book was published in July, 1846. The story
appeared serially in the “New Monthly Magazine,” which
periodical had just been purchased by W. Harrison Ainsworth.
[1847]
THE CHILDREN OF THE NEW FOREST. By CAPTAIN MARRYAT, R.N. London: H.
Hurst, 27 King William Street, Charing Cross. 2 vols. Fcap. 8vo (4¼
× 6¾).
Vol. I. pp. (iv) [enclosing inset title-page printed in red and
green] + 288 + (2).
Vol. II. pp. (iv) [enclosing inset title-page printed in red and
green] + 298 + (4).
Vol. I. contains eight and Vol. II. four steel-engraved
illustrations by Frank Marryat, printed separately.
NOTES—(i) This book was the first story in _The Juvenile
Library_. Vol. I. was published in July and Vol. II. in
October, 1847. In all the copies I have been able to examine
pp. (299) to (302) of Vol. II. are occupied by an
announcement of this library and by reviews of _The Children
of the New Forest_ itself. Whether the book, on its actual
first appearance, had these pages blank or otherwise
occupied I do not know, but it is certainly curious to find
press notices of a story in any but subsequent issues of
that story. It should be noted that the pages in question
are not inset, but form the last quarter of a 16 pp. sheet.
(ii) It is rumoured in some quarters that the book, as
originally issued, was dated on the title-page. I have never
seen a copy so dated.
1848/9
THE LITTLE SAVAGE. By CAPTAIN MARRYAT, R.N. In Two Parts. Part I.
First edition. London: H. Hurst, 27 King William Street, Charing
Cross. 1848. Part II. First edition. London: H. Hurst and Co., King
William Street, Charing Cross. 1849. 2 vols. Fcap. 8vo (4¼ × 6¾).
Part I. pp. (iv) [enclosing inset title-page printed in red and
green] + 298 + (4). Advertisements and reviews paged 1-4 of _The
Juvenile Library_ and _The Children of the New Forest_ occupy pp.
(299) to (302).
Part II. pp. (iv.) [enclosing inset title-page printed in red and
green] + 280 + (4). Advertisements and reviews of Part I. and of
_The Children of the New Forest_ paged 1-4 occupy pp. (281) to
(284).
Each volume contains four line engravings printed separately.
Grey-green cloth, blocked in gold. Uniform with _The Children of the
New Forest_.
NOTES—(i) Part I. was published in December, 1848, and Part
II. in February, 1849.
(ii) The second edition of Part II. differs from the first
in that there are preliminary pages (viii), of which p. (v)
bears a note by the author's son referring to Captain
Marryat's death. Frontispiece and title-page are, as
previously, inset on different paper, and the latter printed
in red and green.
(iii) Of Part II. only two chapters were written by Marryat.
1849
VALERIE: AN AUTOBIOGRAPHY. By CAPTAIN MARRYAT, R.N. Author of _Peter
Simple_, _Frank Mildmay_ etc. London: Henry Colburn, Publisher,
Great Marlborough Street. 1849. 2 vols. Ex. Cr. 8vo (4¾ × 7¾).
Vol. I. pp. (iv) + 312. Publisher's advertisements, 2 pp., printed
on text paper bound in at end.
Vol. II. pp. (iv) + 287 + (1). Advertisement of _Frank Mildmay_
occupies p. (288).
Paper boards, half cloth, paper label. Also grey-green cloth, gilt,
blocked in blind. White end-papers.
NOTE—This book was published in June, 1849. The story—to the
end of Vol. II., chap. iii.—appeared serially in the “New
Monthly Magazine” during 1846 and 1847. Owing to illness,
Marryat was unable to complete the book, which was finished
by another hand.
II.—A BOOK ATTRIBUTED TO MARRYAT, ONE EDITED BY HIM AND OTHERS POSSIBLY
WRITTEN WITH HIS HELP
1836
THE FLORAL TELEGRAPH: A New Mode of Communication by floral signals.
With Plates. London: Saunders and Otley, Conduit Street. MDCCCXXXVI.
1 vol. Fcap. 8vo (4¼ × 6¾). Pp. xv + (i) + 307 + (11). Publishers'
advertisements occupy pp. (309) to (318)—others face title-page. The
book contains six hand-coloured plates, printed separately.
Olive-green cloth, blocked in gold and blind. Yellow end-papers.
NOTES—(i) This book was published in December, 1836. It was
reissued, probably in 1850, with a cancel title-page
reading: “The Floral Telegraph or Affection's Signals” by
the late Captain Marryatt [_sic_] R.N., author of _Peter
Simple_ etc. London: Saunders and Otley, Conduit Street. The
pagination reads: xv + (i) + 324. Pp. xv + (i) + 189 + (1)
are identical in the two editions, which are probably to
this point composed of the same sheets. The second half of
the book has, however, been reset, altered, and extended.
The illustrations are the same as in the earlier edition,
but they are much more coarsely reproduced and mechanically
coloured. Olive-green cloth, similar to the first edition,
but differently blocked in gold. Yellow end-papers.
(ii) It is a moot point whether or not Marryat was the
author of this rather foolish little book. That he had,
however, definite connection with it is suggested by the
fact that on its first publication the “Metropolitan
Magazine,” at that time closely identified with Marryat,
devoted to it a three-quarter-page highly laudatory review,
of which, after praising the introduction, the writer said:
“Though no name is found on the title-page, it is evident
that the work is from a practised and popular writer.”
Further, if Marryat were not the author, it is difficult to
understand the publishers' motive in reissuing it
immediately after his death with his name on the title-page.
If he deserves responsibility for the book, the manœuvre is
comprehensible enough, especially on the part of a firm with
whom he had severed relations in 1837, and thus deprived
them of the profitable exploitation of his established
reputation.
1836
RATTLIN THE REEFER. Edited by the author of _Peter Simple_. “All hands
reef top-sails—Away, Aloft!” London: Richard Bentley, New Burlington
Street, Successor to Henry Colburn. 1836. 3 vols. Ex. Cr. 8vo (4¾ ×
7¾).
Vol. I. pp. xii + (ii) + 301 + (3). Note by Marryat stating his
connection with the work occupies p. (iv). Publisher's
advertisements occupy pp. (303) (304).
Vol. II. pp. viii + 300. No half-title to this volume.
Vol. III. pp. viii + 344. No half-title to this volume.
Each volume contains three full-page etched illustrations by A.
Hervieu, of which one is a frontispiece and the other two in the
course of the text. A list of illustrations for the three volumes
occupies p. (xiii) of Vol. I. The illustrations are dated 1836.
Paper boards, paper label. White end-papers.
NOTE—This book, which was written by Edward Howard (see p.
100), was published on July 23, 1836. A second edition
appeared on August 5 of the same year. A dramatic version by
J. T. Haines (who also dramatized _Jacob Faithful_) was
issued in February, 1893, as No. 2008 in French's Acting
Editions of British Plays.
Two-thirds of the story appeared serially in the
“Metropolitan Magazine” under the title, _The Life of a
Sub-Editor_. Reviewing the book in its three-volume form,
Marryat himself explained fully how and to what extent it
had been transformed from a record of autobiographical fact
to a frank experiment in fiction.
_NOTE_
The six items that follow are, like _Rattlin the Reefer_, the work of
Lieut. the Hon. Edward Granville George Howard, who worked as sub-editor
to Marryat on the “Metropolitan Magazine.” At one time the actual
authorship of Howard's books was ascribed to Marryat himself. This is
now proved to be a mistake. Indeed, apart from the note of
recommendation to _Rattlin the Reefer_ and Marryat's review of that book
in his magazine, there is no printed evidence that he had any share
whatever in the composition of any one of them. On the other hand, he
and Howard were very intimate; the stories of the latter are clearly
influenced by the work of his chief; and Marryat collectors have been in
the habit of regarding Howard's books as desirable adjuncts to a Marryat
collection. For which reasons, and because it is no less probable than
improbable that Marryat, in conversation if not by actual pencraft,
helped to give his sub-editor's books their final shape, I have thought
well to include them in this bibliography.
1837
THE OLD COMMODORE. By the author of _Rattlin the Reefer_. “Nestroque!”
London: Richard Bentley, New Burlington Street. 1837. 3 vols. Ex.
Cr. 8vo (4¾ × 7⅝).
Vol. I. pp. (iv) + 306.
Vol. II. pp. (iv) + 304.
Vol. III. pp. iv + 307 + (1).
Paper boards, paper label. White end-papers.
NOTES—(i) This book was published on September 16, 1837.
(ii) The above reckoning was made from a rebound copy from
which clearly flyleaves were missing.
1838
OUTWARD BOUND: OR A MERCHANT'S ADVENTURES. By the author of _Rattlin
the Reefer_, _The Old Commodore_ etc. London: Henry Colburn,
Publisher, Great Marlborough Street. 1838. 3 vols. Ex. Cr. 8vo (4¾ ×
7¾).
Vol. I. pp. (iv) + 299 + (1). No half-title.
Vol. II. pp. (iv) + 308 + (2). Half-title to this volume.
Publisher's advertisements occupy pp. (309) (310).
Vol. III. pp. (iv) + 326. Half-title to this volume.
Paper boards (half cloth), paper label. White end-papers.
NOTE—This book was published in March, 1838. The story
appeared in part as a serial in the “Metropolitan Magazine”
under the title _Ardent Troughton_.
1839
MEMOIRS OF ADMIRAL SIR SIDNEY SMITH, K.C.B. ETC. By the author of
_Rattlin the Reefer_ etc. London: Richard Bentley, New Burlington
Street, Publisher in Ordinary to Her Majesty. 1839. 2 vols. Demy 8vo
(5½ × 9).
Vol. I pp. vii + (i) + 400.
Vol. II. pp. vii + (i) + 411 + (5). Publisher's advertisements
occupy pp. (413) to (416). No half-titles.
Steel-engraved portrait frontispiece to each volume, printed
separately. Pale blue ribbed cloth, gilt, blocked in blind. Yellow
end-papers.
1840
JACK ASHORE. By the Author of _Rattlin the Reefer_, _Outward Bound_
etc. etc. London: Henry Colburn, Publisher, Great Marlborough
Street. 1840. 3 vols. Ex. Cr. 8vo (4¾ × 7¾).
Vol. I. pp. xvi + 310.
Vol. II. pp. viii + 300.
Vol. III. pp. vii + (i) + 323 + (1).
Steel-engraved portrait frontispiece to Vol. I. printed separately.
Paper boards, paper label. White end-papers.
1842
SIR HENRY MORGAN: THE BUCCANEER. By the author of _Rattlin the
Reefer_, _Outward Bound_, _Jack Ashore_ etc. London: Henry Colburn,
Publisher, Great Marlborough Street. 1842. 3 vols. Ex. Cr. 8vo (4¾ ×
7¾).
Vol. I. pp. vii + (i) + 295 + (1).
Vol. II. pp. vi + 307 + (1).
Vol. III. pp. vii + (i) + 315 + (1).
There is a portrait frontispiece to Vol. I., lithographed and
printed separately. Paper boards, half cloth, paper label. White
end-papers.
1859
TALES FROM BENTLEY. Vol. I. London: Richard Bentley, New Burlington
Street, 1 vol. Pott 8vo (4 × 6¼). Pp. (iv) + 96. Buff paper wrappers
printed in black. Also in boards. _The Marine Coast_, a story by the
author of _Rattlin the Reefer_, occupies pp. 55 to 88.
NOTE—This first series of _Tales from Bentley_ was published
in September, 1859.
_A NOTE ON MARRYAT AS ARTIST_
It is well known that Captain Marryat was a painter as well as a writer.
Collectors of his written work will perhaps also be interested to know
of a published book containing in reproduction some of his drawings. In
1825 or 1826 there appeared the following work:
ILLUSTRATIONS OF THE BURMESE WAR. Both Series. With twenty-four plates
after drawings by Captain Marryat, Thornton and Moore displaying the
Operations of the British Forces. London: Published by Thomas Clay.
(N.D.) The volume measures 20½ × 13¼, is bound in thick grey paper
wrappers lettered in black as above, and contains five engravings of
pictures painted by Stothard and D. Cox after drawings by Captain
Marryat. The name Kingsbury and Co., 6 Leadenhall Street, appears at
the foot of the engravings as their publisher, together with the
date 1825.
BENJAMIN DISRAELI
1804-1881
BENJAMIN DISRAELI
It is easier to blame historians and political critics of the life and
statesmanship of Disraeli for neglecting his novels, than it is oneself
to judge these novels as literature, apart from the huge mass of
incident, ambition, and achievement that went to make up the character
of their extraordinary author. To attempt in a few pages an estimate of
Disraeli as a man of letters were manifestly absurd, seeing that he was
rarely that and nothing else. It were doubly absurd, even if possible,
to treat in summary of the interactions of his political and literary
genius when one of the finest biographies of modern times (and that in
six volumes) has already covered every inch of the ground. The only
purpose, therefore, which these unauthoritative notes may serve is that
of indicating in a few words the development of Disraeli as a novelist
and the respective content of his principal books.
Although his novels fall into distinct and different groups, they are
all primarily satirical in character. From the moment of the anonymous
but sensational appearance of _Vivian Grey_ to that of the publication
of _Endymion_ which bore on each of its three volumes the name of the
most distinguished statesman of the world, Disraeli held up alike to the
follies and the ideals of his age the mirror of a keen and ruthless
mind.
But if he gazed on his contemporaries more often from the angle of
satire than from any other, he enclosed in their various frames the
period portraits that are his books. As a very young man—unknown,
ambitious, at once receptive and intensely sensitive—he used as material
for fiction not only the incidents of his own life, but, even more, the
thoughts and aspirations that filled his teeming brain. _Vivian Grey_
(1826-7), _Contarini Fleming_ (1833), and _Alroy_ (1833) are mainly
interesting as autobiography, and to the use of personal experience as
material for novel-writing he returned in extreme old age when, looking
back from the splendid eminence of his power, he described in the pages
of _Endymion_ the long road that he had travelled from obscurity to
fame.
_Vivian Grey_ appeared in five volumes, with an interval of a year
between the issue of the first two and that of the last three. But for
the brilliant publicity given to it by Colburn, the book would have
attracted little or no attention. It is a showy, careless pastiche of
the society of the day, a gallery of isolated portraits rather than a
single composition, attractive to the fashionable public of the time for
its thinly veiled presentment of well-known men and women. The reader is
further unpleasantly aware that the author's interest in his book did
not extend much beyond the first of the five volumes. Young men find it
easier to start a book than to finish one, and Disraeli was clearly no
exception to the rule.
_Contarini Fleming_ and _Alroy_, written after an extended tour in the
East, show, at its most luxuriant and ornate, the author's talent for
heady, rhetorical prose. Like most of his race, Disraeli was more
susceptible to magnificence and to decoration than to severe simplicity,
and throughout his books was prone to an excessive use of epithet and
metaphor. If these two early books show his love of ornament more
shamelessly than those written at a maturer age, they can claim
nevertheless to have received more careful and conscientious working, so
that their embellishments, if too lavish, are at least scrupulously
fashioned.
Between the publication of the last three volumes of _Vivian Grey_ and
that of the story of _Contarini Fleming_ Disraeli published two works of
fiction which, although in the matter of primary characteristic isolated
from the rest of his work and from each other, contain elements that
constantly reappear in the books of his later life.
_The Voyage of Captain Popanilla_ (1828) is a satire on English
political and social institutions cast in the form of an inverted
_Gulliver's Travels_ or _Erewhon_. Instead of an Englishman reaching an
imaginary and fantastic land, where he finds conditions that correspond
partly to the prejudices, partly to the ideals, of the author, the hero
of Disraeli's satire is a being from a mythical world, who comes over
the sea to an island that is, in all but name, England as Disraeli saw
it. As an example of pertinacious and aggressive parody _The Voyage of
Captain Popanilla_ is witty and readable enough, but it fatigues, as do
all pastiches of the kind, by its somewhat literal pursuit of
contemporary activity. Disraeli should have limited his prospect of
satire, for the individual beauties of any view are appreciated in
proportion to the smallness of their number. _Popanilla_ is overcrowded,
and the reader's mind tires with the effort to solve the riddle that is
contained in nearly every paragraph.
_The Young Duke_ (1831) was written to make money. One may go farther
and confess that the author, seeking frankly to profit by the
contemporary popularity of the novel of fashionable life, wrote a tale
of society into which he crammed all that he knew of character and
incident likely to appeal to the mood of the moment. With such
antecedents it is surprising that _The Young Duke_ is not a worse book
than it is. Inevitably it reads artificially, and the young writer had
not the skill entirely to conceal the wilfulness with which the work was
put together. On the other hand, the heroine deserves the attention of
Disraeli students, for she is the direct forerunner of Sybil, and that
part of _The Young Duke_ which depends on her personality is not without
a touch of the four great political novels upon which Disraeli's fame as
a writer must rest.
It was four years after the publication of _Alroy_ that Disraeli next
appeared as a novelist. He then published, within six months of one
another, two stories that stand markedly apart from the rest of his
work, in that they are wholly without political significance. Even amid
the extravagance of _Contarini Fleming_ and _The Young Duke_ occur
passages that depend for their significance on political movements or
political thought of the time. _Vivian Grey_, being a _roman à clef_ of
high society, and _Popanilla_ being a direct satire of institutions, are
naturally full of what was, even in those days, the author's ruling
interest. But _Henrietta Temple_ (1837) and _Venetia_ (1837) are
romances pure and simple. They may be said also to have no
autobiographical significance, save in so far as the first part of the
earlier book was written under the stimulus of a real love affair. It
must be admitted that _Henrietta Temple_, once it gets beyond the
boundary of Disraeli's own passionate experience, is a tame and careless
book. The interval that passed between the writing of the earlier and
that of the later portion seems to have extinguished his enthusiasm for
the work. Colburn was clamouring for a novel, and Disraeli, as always
hard pressed for money, raked out his incomplete manuscript, furbished
it up, finished it off, and delivered it to the publisher. _Venetia_ has
not this fault of interrupted fashioning. It is, however, in one
reader's opinion at any rate, a very tedious affair—rhetorical, unreal,
and sluggish in movement; but this view is contrary to that held by
many, who consider that the book's portraiture gives it value as
commentary on the life of Byron and other famous people.
There follows, this time after an interval of seven years, the first of
the four famous political novels that, whether or no they can be said to
have introduced a new genre into English fiction, are undoubtedly the
finest achievements of Disraeli's literary career. _Coningsby_ (1844),
_Sybil_ (1845), and _Tancred_ (1847) are too well known to need
description here. Because, however, their interdependence as parts of a
general scheme in the mind of the author tends to become obscured by
consideration of their respective quality, note may be taken of the fact
that _Coningsby_ is a novel of political views, _Sybil_ one of social
conditions and classes among the people, and _Tancred_ one of religion
as an influence in national life. Of the characters in _Coningsby_ many
reappear in _Tancred_, while Tadpole and Taper, whose names have become
part of English political slang, pull their wires and cadge their jobs
as assiduously in _Sybil_ as in the story that preceded it. It would be
interesting to work out a comparison between Disraeli and Trollope as
political novelists. Probably one would come to the decision that those
of Disraeli are the better political novels and those of Trollope the
better novels of politics. In other words, Disraeli is the cleverer
publicist, but Trollope the finer artist. _Coningsby_ and its fellows
depend very much on contemporary fact and personality for their full
understanding and significance. Surely it is not hyperæsthetic to demand
that literature be its own interpreter? In so far as a work of art
requires outside knowledge for its proper appreciation, to that extent
it falls short from what in art is highest and most perfect.
The appearance of _Lothair_ in 1870 caused something of a scandal in
serious political circles. The Briton is accustomed to take his
statesmen seriously, but his novelists with frivolity and in the leisure
hour. Wherefore he regarded it as unseemly that the name of an ex-Prime
Minister and of a man whose political career was by no means run should
figure on the title-pages of a three-volume novel. Curiosity conquered
disapproval and, as on an hundred other occasions, a book condemned for
its very existence was purchased and read in tens of thousands.
_Lothair_ is the work of a man who knew everybody and almost everything.
The personal satire, the constructive and destructive fervour of
_Coningsby_, _Sybil_, and _Tancred_ have given place to a greater
gravity and restraint, to an ironic vision more general and less
individual. Taking as his subject the power of the Catholic Church, the
rival power of revolutionary free thought and the indeterminate central
position of the Church of England, Disraeli built up his fourth and most
extensive picture of the England of his time. If we miss the idealist
conviction that gives to some of the passages in _Tancred_ the force of
a splendid sermon, we gain a certainty and a dignity of thought which
were inevitably lacking in the books of the earlier period. We also
continue to enjoy the epigram, the vivid minor portraiture, the
lightning grasp of fact and of every implication of fact, that give to
the political novels of Disraeli their unique flavour and importance.
_BIOGRAPHY_
THE LIFE OF BENJAMIN DISRAELI, EARL OF BEACONSFIELD. By WILLIAM
FLAVELLE MONYPENNY and GEORGE EARLE BUCKLE. 6 vols. London: John
Murray. 1912-1920.
I.—EDITIONES PRINCIPES
FICTION, POETRY, ESSAYS, LETTERS, ETC.
1825
AN ENQUIRY INTO THE PLANS, PROGRESS AND POLICY OF AMERICAN MINING
COMPANIES. London: John Murray. MDCCCXXV. 1 vol. Demy 8vo (5¼ × 8½).
Pp. 135 + (1) of which p. (6) is paged vi. Paper boards, paper
label. White end-papers.
NOTE—These observations were made from a third enlarged
edition published in the first year of issue, and it is
likely that the first edition, although similar in format,
etc., contains fewer pages.
1825
LAWYERS AND LEGISLATORS: Or NOTES ON THE AMERICAN MINING COMPANIES.
(Quotation from Hooker.) London: John Murray. MDCCCXXV. 1 vol. Demy
8vo (5¼ × 8½). Pp. (viii) + 99 + (1). No half-title. Paper boards,
paper label. White end-papers.
1825
THE PRESENT STATE OF MEXICO: As detailed in a Report presented to the
General Congress by the Secretary of State for the Home Department
and Foreign Affairs at the Opening of the Session in 1825. With
Notes and a Memoir of Don Lucas Alaman. London: John Murray,
Albemarle Street. MDCCCXXV. 1 vol. Demy 8vo (5¼ × 8½). Pp. 130.
Advertisement of Disraeli's two earlier pamphlets occupies verso of
half-title, facing title-page. Pp. (6) to 55 are occupied by a
Memoir of Don Lucas Alaman, written by Disraeli. Alaman's report
begins on p. 57. Paper boards, paper label. White end-papers.
1826/7
VIVIAN GREY. “Why then the world's mine oyster which I with sword will
open.” London: Henry Colburn, New Burlington Street. 1826 (Vols. I.
and II.), 1827 (Vols. III. IV. and V.). 5 vols. Ex. Cr. 8vo (4¾ ×
7⅝).
Vol. I. pp. (vi) + 266 + (2).
Vol. II. pp. (iv) + 236 + (4). Publisher's advertisements occupy pp.
(237) to (240).
Vol. III. pp. (iv) + 333 + (3). Publisher's advertisements occupy
pp. (335) and (336).
Vol. IV. pp. (iv) + 362.
Vol. V. pp. (iv) + 324.
Paper boards, paper label. White end-papers.
NOTE—Vols. I. and II. of this story were published on April
22, 1826; Vols. III. IV. and V. on February 23, 1827.
1828
THE VOYAGE OF CAPTAIN POPANILLA. By the author of _Vivian Grey_.
“Travellers ne'er did lie though fools at home condemned 'em.”
London: Henry Colburn, New Burlington Street. 1828. 1 vol. Ex. Cr.
8vo (4⅞ × 7¾). Pp. viii + 243 + (1). Paper boards, paper label.
White end-papers.
NOTE—This book was published on June 3, 1828.
1831
THE YOUNG DUKE: “A moral Tale, though gay.” By the author of _Vivian
Grey_. London: Henry Colburn and Richard Bentley, New Burlington
Street. 1831. 3 vols. Ex. Cr. 8vo (7⅞ × 4¾).
Vol. I. pp. iv + 300. No half-title.
Vol. II. pp. (vi) + 269 + (3). Text ends p. 269; note occupies p.
(271).
Vol. III. pp. (vi) + 265 + (3). Publishers' advertisements occupy
pp. (267) (268).
Paper boards (half cloth), paper label. White end-papers.
NOTE—The only copy of this book I have been able to consult
in its original state contained at the end of Vol. I. a
publishers' catalogue, 8 pp., dated April, 1832. Clearly it
did not belong to the first issue, but what date should be
found on a catalogue of the earliest issue, where in the
three volumes such a catalogue should appear, or whether
there should be a catalogue at all, I do not know.
1832
ENGLAND AND FRANCE: Or A CURE FOR THE MINISTERIAL GALLOMANIA.
(Quotation from speech by Duke of Wellington.) London: John Murray,
Albemarle Street. 1832. 1 vol. Ex. Cr. 8vo (4¾ × 7¾). Pp. viii +
(xii) + 268. Paper boards, paper label. White end-papers.
NOTES—(i) This book was published in April, 1832.
(ii) The above observations were made from a rebound cut
copy, and details of measurement are therefore conjectural.
1832
CONTARINI FLEMING: A Psychological Autobiography. London: John Murray,
Albemarle Street. MDCCCXXXII. 4 vols. Fcap. 8vo (4¼ × 6¾).
Vol. I. pp. (iv) + 288.
Vol. II. pp. (iv) + 247 + (1).
Vol. III. pp. (iv) + 194 + (2). Publisher's advertisements occupy
pp. (195) (196).
Vol. IV. pp. (iv) + 230 + (2).
Paper boards (half cloth), paper label. White end-papers.
NOTES—(i) This book was published in May, 1832.
(ii) The sheets of the Murray edition were issued in 1834 by
Edward Moxon, Dover Street, over the name: “D'Israeli The
Younger, author of _Vivian Grey_, _Alroy_ and _Ixion in
Heaven_,” with a new preliminary signature (8 pp.) to Vol.
I. containing a preface in explanation of the author's
action in putting his name to the book. Consequently from
the purist point of view the Moxon edition of 1834 should be
collected as containing fresh matter. It was bound in pale
maroon cloth, with paper label. Yellow end-papers.
1833
THE WONDROUS TALE OF ALROY: THE RISE OF ISKANDER. By the author of
_Vivian Grey_, _Contarini Fleming_ etc. London: Saunders and Otley,
Conduit Street. 1833. 3 vols. Ex. Cr. 8vo (4¾ × 7¾).
Vol. I. pp. xxv + (iii) + 303 + (1).
Vol. II. pp. (iv) + 305 + (3). Publishers' advertisements, dated
February, 1833, occupy pp. (307) and (308).
Vol. III. pp. (iv) + 324 + (4). Advertisements of works by the same
author occupy pp. (325) and (326).
Paper boards, paper label. White end-papers.
NOTE—This book was published on March 5, 1833.
1833
WHAT IS HE? By the author of _Vivian Grey_. (Extract from a Letter.)
London: James Ridgway, Piccadilly and E. Lloyd, Harley Street,
MDCCCXXXIII. 1 vol. Demy 8vo (5⅜ × 8½). Pp. 16. Half-title serves as
wrapper and bears the words “Price Sixpence.” P. 16 serves as back
wrapper. Advertisements occupy p. (2).
NOTE—The above notation was made from a copy of the “New
Edition, Revised” of the pamphlet. Since, however, this
first appeared in the same year and over the same imprint, I
have ventured to assume comparative uniformity of size and
appearance.
1834
THE REVOLUTIONARY EPICK: THE WORK OF DISRAELI THE YOUNGER. Author of
_The Psychological Romance_. London: Edward Moxon, Dover Street,
MDCCCXXXIV. [The title-page to Vol. II. reads in addition: “Books
II. and III. containing The Plea of Lyridon, the Genius of
Feudalism; and the First Part of the Conquest of Italy.”] 2 vols.
Large Post 4to (8¼ × 10½).
Vol. I. pp. viii + 89 + (3).
Vol. II. pp. xi + (i) + (91) to 206.
Advertisement of _Contarini Fleming_ (differently worded in each
case) faces title in both volumes. Paper boards. Paper label on
sides. White end-papers.
NOTE—Only fifty copies of this edition were printed. See
preface to the second and revised edition published in 1864,
details of which are given below.
1834
THE CRISIS EXAMINED. By DISRAELI THE YOUNGER. London: Saunders and
Otley, Conduit Street. 1834. 1 vol. Demy 8vo (5½ × 8½). Pp. (iv) +
31 + (1).
NOTES—(i) This pamphlet was issued in December, 1834.
(ii) The above observations were made from a rebound copy,
wherefore the style of binding is an assumption, and I
suspect that two or more flyleaves—maybe printed with
advertisements—should be added to the reckoning here set
down.
1835
VINDICATION OF THE ENGLISH CONSTITUTION IN A LETTER TO A NOBLE AND
LEARNED LORD. By DISRAELI THE YOUNGER. London: Saunders and Otley,
Conduit Street. 1835. 1 vol. Tall Demy 8vo (5½ × 9). Pp. ix + (i) +
210 + (2). Publishers' advertisements occupy pp. (211) and (212). A
four-page leaflet of publishers' advertisements should be found
inserted between the front end-papers, and an erratum slip at p.
(v). Paper boards, paper label. White end-papers.
NOTE—This book was published in January, 1835.
1836
THE LETTERS OF RUNNYMEDE. “Neither for shame nor fear this mask he
wore That, like a vizor in the battle-field But shrouds a manly and
a daring brow.” London: John Macrone, St. James's Square.
MDCCCXXXVI. 1 vol. Slim Ex. Cr. 8vo (4¾ × 8¼). Pp. (xxiv) [paged as
ii + (v) + vi-xx + (ii)] + 234 + (6). Publishers' advertisements, 2
pp., dated August 1, 1836, occupy pp. i and ii. The half-title is
inset on different paper between p. ii. and title-page. Paper
boards, paper label. White end-papers. Also in dark blue embossed
cloth, gilt, yellow end-papers.
NOTE—This book was published in July or August, 1836.
1837
HENRIETTA TEMPLE: A Love Story. By the author of _Vivian Grey_. “Quoth
Sancho, Read it out by all means; for I mightily delight in hearing
of love stories.” London: Henry Colburn, 13 Great Marlborough
Street, MDCCCXXXVII. 3 vols. Ex. Cr. 8vo (4⅞ × 7⅝).
Vol. I. pp. (iv) + 299 + (1).
Vol. II. pp. (iv) + 309 + (3). Publisher's advertisements occupy pp.
(311) and (312).
Vol. III. pp. (iv) + 331 + (1).
Paper boards, half cloth, paper label. White end-papers.
NOTE—Although dated 1837, this book was actually published
in December, 1836.
1837
VENETIA. By the author of _Vivian Grey_ and _Henrietta Temple_. “Is
thy face like thy mother's my fair child?” “The child of love,
though born in bitterness and nurtured in convulsion.” London: Henry
Colburn, Publisher, 13 Great Marlborough Street. MDCCCXXXVII. 3
vols. Ex. Cr. 8vo (4⅞ × 7⅝).
Vol. I. pp. (iv) + 346.
Vol. II. pp. (ii) + 377 + (1).
Vol. III. pp. (iv) + 324. Publisher's advertisements occupy pp. (i)
and (ii).
No half-titles. Paper boards, half cloth, paper label. White
end-papers.
NOTE—This book was published in May, 1837.
1839
THE TRAGEDY OF COUNT ALARCOS. By the author of _Vivian Grey_. London:
Henry Colburn, Great Marlborough Street. 1839. 1 vol. Demy 8vo (5½ ×
8½). Pp. vi + (ii) + 108. Errata slip facing p. 1. Paper boards,
paper label. White end-papers.
NOTE—This book was published in May, 1839.
1844
CONINGSBY: Or THE NEW GENERATION. By B. DISRAELI ESQ., M.P., author of
_Contarini Fleming_. London: Henry Colburn, Publisher, Great
Marlborough Street. 1844. 3 vols. Ex. Cr. 8vo (4¾ × 7¾).
Vol. I. pp. iv + 319 + (1).
Vol. II. pp. (ii) + 314.
Vol. III. pp. (ii) + 354. Advertisements occupy pp. (351) to (354).
No half-titles. Paper boards, half cloth, paper label. White
end-papers.
NOTE—This book was published in May, 1844.
1845
SYBIL: Or, THE TWO NATIONS. By B. DISRAELI, M.P., author of
_Coningsby_. (Quotation from Latimer.) London: Henry Colburn.
Publisher. Great Marlborough Street. 1845. 3 vols. Ex. Cr. 8vo (4¾ ×
7¾).
Vol. I. p. viii + 315 + (1).
Vol. II. pp. (iv) + 324.
Vol. III. pp. (iv) + 326 + (2). Publisher's advertisements occupy
pp. (327) and (328).
Paper boards, half cloth, paper label. White end-papers.
NOTE—This book was published in May, 1845.
1847
TANCRED: Or THE NEW CRUSADE. By B. DISRAELI, M.P., author of
_Coningsby_, _Sybil_ etc. London: Henry Colburn, Publisher, Great
Marlborough Street, 1847. 3 vols. Ex. Cr. 8vo (4¾ × 7⅞).
Vol. I. pp. (ii) + 338.
Vol. II. pp. (ii) + 340.
Vol. III. pp. (ii) + 298 + (12). Publisher's advertisements occupy
pp. (299) to (310).
No half-titles. Paper boards, half cloth, paper label. White
end-papers.
NOTE—This book was published in March, 1847.
1852
LORD GEORGE BENTINCK: A Political Biography. By B. DISRAELI, Member of
Parliament for the County of Buckingham. “He left us the legacy of
heroes; the memory of his great name and the inspiration of his
great example.” London: Colburn and Co., Publishers, Great
Marlborough Street. 1852. 1 vol. Demy 8vo (5¾ × 8¾). Pp. viii + 588.
Publishers' catalogue, 8 pp., and measuring 5 × 8, bound in after p.
588. This catalogue is followed by a further single sheet (2 pp.)
advertisement, measuring 5 × 8½. Dark olive-brown cloth, gilt,
blocked in blind. Yellow end-papers.
NOTE—Although dated 1852, this book was actually published
in December, 1851.
1853
*IXION IN HEAVEN. THE INFERNAL MARRIAGE. THE VOYAGE OF CAPTAIN
POPANILLA. THE TRAGEDY OF COUNT ALARCOS. By BENJAMIN DISRAELI.
London: David Bryce, 48 Paternoster Row. 1853. 1 vol. Cloth.
This little book—a volume in a cheap reissue of the novels and
romances of Disraeli—is the first _book_ edition of _Ixion in
Heaven_ and _The Infernal Marriage_, which first appeared in the
“New Monthly” in 1829 and 1830, and had not been reprinted in the
interval.
1864
THE REVOLUTIONARY EPICK. By the Right Honorable BENJAMIN DISRAELI.
London: Longman, Green, Longman, Roberts and Green. 1864. 1 vol.
Small Cr. 8vo (4½ × 7⅛). Pp. (xiv) [paged as (ii) + x + (ii)] + 176
+ (2). Preface (in dedication), dated Easter, 1864, occupies pp.
(vii) and (viii). Preface reprinted from the original edition
occupies pp. (ix) to (xii). Brown cloth, gilt. Chocolate end-papers.
NOTE—The text of this edition differs extensively both in
wording and length from that of 1834. In his preface the
author states that the work was completed in 1837, but,
through press of political duties, he made no arrangement
for its issue before the present date. He also avers that
only fifty copies of the edition of 1834 were printed.
1870
LOTHAIR. By the Right Honorable B. DISRAELI. (Quotation from
Terentius.) London: Longmans, Green and Co., 1870. 3 vols. Ex. Cr.
8vo (4¾ × 7¾).
Vol. I. pp. (viii) + 328. Publishers' advertisements, 32 pp., dated
January, 1870, bound in at end.
Vol. II. pp. (iv) + 321 + (3).
Vol. III. pp. (iv) + 333 + (7). Publishers' advertisements occupy
pp. (337) to (340).
Green cloth, gilt, blocked in blind. Chocolate end-papers.
NOTE—This book was published in May, 1870.
1880
ENDYMION. By the author of _Lothair_. “Quicquid agunt Homines.”
London: Longmans, Green and Co. 1880. 3 vols. Ex. Cr. 8vo (4¾ × 7⅝).
Vol. I. pp. (iv) + 331 + (1).
Vol. II. pp. (iv) + 337 + (3).
Vol. III. pp. (iv) + 346 + (2). Publishers' advertisements occupy
pp. (347) and (348).
Scarlet cloth lettered in silver. Grey and white decorated
end-papers.
NOTE—There are two styles of blocking for the binding of
this book; that most worked and bearing publishers' imprint
at foot of spine is the earlier.
II.—BOOKS PARTIALLY WRITTEN OR EDITED BY BENJAMIN DISRAELI
1825
THE LIFE OF PAUL JONES. From original documents in the possession of
John Henry Sherburne Esq., Register of the Navy of the United
States. London: John Murray, Albemarle Street. MDCCCXXV. 1 vol. Ex.
Cr. 8vo (4¾ × 7¾). Pp. xii + 320. Paper boards, paper label. White
end-papers.
NOTES—(i) With reference to this book Monypenny says: “The
exact relationship of the English book to the American
original is not clear; but the former seems also to have
been written by an American, and the original MS., which has
been preserved, shows that Disraeli's share in it was
limited to the introduction here and there of a word or
phrase where the excision of a passage rendered such
amendment necessary.” In addition to the corrections thus
described Disraeli contributed an anonymous preface to the
book.
(ii) It is interesting to record here that in 1844 Captain
Marryat was asked to write a life of Paul Jones. He was
interested in the project, but it never materialized.
1826
THE STAR CHAMBER. A Weekly Magazine published by William Marsh, 145
Oxford Street. 9/8 numbers Demy 8vo (5½ × 8¾) were published: No. 1,
April 19, pp. 1 to 20; Nos. 2 and 3 (double number), April 26, pp.
21 to 58; No. 4, May 3, pp. 59 to 74; No. 5, May 10, pp. 75 to 90;
No. 6, May 17, pp. 91 to 110; No. 7, May 24, pp. 111 to 126; No. 8,
May 31, pp. 127 to 142; No. 9, June 7, pp. 143 to 154.
After the completion of the 9/8 numbers, a four-page sheet of
preliminary matter was issued, of which p. (i) reads:
THE STAR CHAMBER. Vol. I. Part 1. April 19 to June 7, 1826. (Quotation
from Cavendish, “Wolsey.”) London: William Marsh, 145 Oxford Street.
Pp. (iii) and (iv) are occupied by contents list.
NOTES—(i) At one time the responsibility for the whole
contents as well as for the editorship of the “Star Chamber”
was fathered upon Disraeli. Monypenny, however, combats this
theory. He says: “The 'Star Chamber' was founded by a
certain Peter Hall, a friend of Meredith's at Brasenose,
who, through Meredith, had become acquainted with Disraeli.
Disraeli contributed some fables with a political
application under the title of _The Modern Aesop_, and
perhaps other matter. But in later life he expressly denied
('The Times,' November 3, 1871; the 'Leisure Hour,' November
4, 1871) having been editor, if indeed there ever was an
editor.” This represents, of course, the most recent and
authoritative opinion on the matter; but it is interesting,
on p. 150 of the catalogue of the Hope collection of
newspapers, etc., in the Bodleian Library at Oxford (1865),
to find reasons given for the suppression by Disraeli of all
copies of the “Star Chamber” upon which he could lay his
hands. The Peter Hall referred to above was the Reverend
Peter Hall, B.A., editor of “The Crypt.”
(ii) It is because the “Star Chamber” has come to be looked
upon as a Disraeli item that I have included it here,
despite the fact that in so doing I exceed the limit of
these bibliographies, which take no account of magazine
contributions of the authors concerned.
1849-1859
THE WORKS OF ISAAC DISRAELI. Edited with Introductions by BENJAMIN
DISRAELI.
Disraeli started work on a new edition of his father's books in 1847,
but the actual publication was, for various reasons, spread over a
period of ten years. The following are the dates and details in outline
of the first issues of the various titles:
1849. CURIOSITIES OF LITERATURE. London: Edward Moxon. 3 vols. Demy
8vo (5½ × 8¾). Dark green cloth, gilt. Yellow end-papers. Vol. I.
contains “A View of the Life and Writings” of Isaac Disraeli written
by his son and extending to over thirty pages.
1851. COMMENTARIES ON THE LIFE AND REIGN OF CHARLES THE FIRST, KING OF
ENGLAND. London: Henry Colburn. 2 vols. Demy 8vo (5½ × 8¾). Dark
green cloth, gilt. Yellow end-papers. Vol. I. contains a brief
preface by Benjamin Disraeli.
1859. THE LITERARY CHARACTER Or THE HISTORY OF MEN OF GENIUS; and
LITERARY MISCELLANIES and AN ENQUIRY INTO THE CHARACTER OF JAMES THE
FIRST. 1 vol. Cr. 8vo.
1859. THE CALAMITIES AND QUARRELS OF AUTHORS. 1 Vol. Cr. 8vo.
1859. AMENITIES OF LITERATURE. 2 vols. Cr. 8vo.
These last three items were all published in London by Routledge, Warnes
and Routledge, and bound in dark green cloth, with yellow end-papers.
They contain no prefaces by Benjamin Disraeli, who contented himself
with care for the text of his father's work.
_NOTE_
To a collected edition of his novels issued in 1870 Disraeli wrote an
important preface, characterising the work of his youth from the
viewpoint of a man in his sixties and indicating the considerable
revisions carried out in nearly all the books.
No attempt has been made to include in the foregoing bibliography the
reports of and selections from the speeches of Disraeli, which—not
surprisingly—were issued in large numbers during his later life. Also
are omitted two volumes of his early letters, published after his death.
WILKIE COLLINS
1824-1889
WILKIE COLLINS
Few novelists have enjoyed greater glory than did Wilkie Collins at the
height of his fame; to few did loss of popularity in later years come
more bitterly. For fame at one time undeniably was his. Not only had he
a large and enthusiastic public; not only were his works translated into
half a dozen languages within a month of their original publication; not
only was he pestered by the editors of two hemispheres for stories and
serials; but also he figured prominently in the professional literary
life of the time, was the intimate friend of Dickens, and a member of
the innermost ring of artistic and intellectual society. Probably to his
intimacy with the chief literary personalities of his time is due the
considerable survival of his reputation. Despite the fact that during
the last period of his life he suffered severe eclipse, and although,
beyond _The Moonstone_ and _The Woman in White_, none of his books are
regularly read to-day, he is a name more familiar to the world than
Trollope, a name more notably literary than Marryat. In the sixties, no
less than in the nineteen-twenties, to belong to the writing set was
two-thirds of reputation. There is no log-rolling so expert, no
admiration so mutual as that existing among members of the various
groups that practise the arts. Whence it has come about that the name of
Wilkie Collins—who as an artist may not be mentioned in the same chapter
as Trollope or Marryat, or even Mrs. Gaskell—is a household word, while
those of his greater fellows sound strangely, as the notes of some
old-fashioned melody.
I do not seek to imply that Collins' survival is in no way due to the
quality of his work. He won the admiration of his own age and may claim
that of posterity as a superb teller of stories and, in his latter days,
as a pathetic and courageous figure. But apart from his dexterity in the
contriving of plot, apart from a great (if intermittent) talent for the
portrayal of abnormal character, he is inferior as a painter of life to
many writers of his time whose very existence is nowadays forgotten.
And yet he would, perhaps, himself be content to have it so. That it was
the novelist's primary duty to tell a story was his own creed, and
faithfully he abode by it. He does not reveal to us human nature as does
Trollope; nor, like Disraeli, pique our interest with satiric brilliance
on topics of follies of the day; he has none of Marryat's gay
familiarity with the winds that blow and the sun that shines on the
crossroads of life's pilgrimage; he has no fund of rough but genial
humanity like Reade; he is not tender like Mrs. Gaskell, nor mystic
visionary like Herman Melville; even Whyte Melville, with his stilted
rhetoric and clumsy naïveté, has at times an attractive freshness that
Collins lacks. But if we rid our minds of all thought of him as seeking
to throw on the dark places of existence the light of interpretation,
looking to him rather for entertainment and for excitement, for deft
mystery and for extraordinary coincidence, he will not disappoint us.
Of his novels the largest category, and that including all the books
(save perhaps two) that bear re-reading nowadays, is that of the
dramatic and mystery stories.
The first to appear was _After Dark_, published in 1856. To the modern
reader, the unmistakable first appearance of the real Collins in these
excellent tales comes with a pleasurable shock after the mild
bohemianism of the preceding novel, _Hide and Seek_. _After Dark_
consists of six narratives of varying length and subject, ingeniously
woven together into the pattern of a single story. At their best they
are as good as anything the author ever wrote; even at their worst they
are free from the perfunctory carelessness that mars so much of his
later work.
_The Dead Secret_ (1857) and _The Queen of Hearts_ (1859) show the
novelist carrying farther his talent for dramatic construction and his
experiments in technique. Both books contain descriptive passages of
sombre power.
There follow successively the four best books of Collins' career. _The
Woman in White_ (1860), _No Name_ (1862), _Armadale_ (1866), and _The
Moonstone_ (1868) are story-telling as fine as the nineteenth century
can show. But they make evident that, even at his zenith, Collins was no
reader of other men's hearts. He could fashion ingenious puppets to his
will, entangling them in the meshes of his intricate and faultlessly
constructed plots; but neither Count Fosco nor Captain Wragge, neither
Miss Gwilt nor Sergeant Cuff, remains with the reader as a new friend or
as a new enemy. Each is remembered, rather, as a striking and skilfully
designed marionette, jerking through a Collins drama at the bidding of a
delicate mechanism of strings.
After _The Moonstone_ the decadence began, and, to a point, accountably
enough. In the first place, the author threw himself into the production
of propaganda fiction, with results (as may be seen) praiseworthy but a
little ridiculous. Secondly, he paid the usual price of success and
began to over-write. Whereas between 1850 and 1868 he published eleven
novels and books of tales, between 1870 and his death in 1889 he
published eighteen, in addition to a mass of short stories for
magazines, plays, and other incidental work. Thirdly—although not until
late in the seventies—his health began to fail. With reasons as good as
these for a falling off in Collins' work, it were ungracious to inquire
whether, had he eschewed reform, controlled his pen, and retained his
strength and eyesight, his fiction would have advanced from strength to
strength. Perhaps; perhaps not. Let us return from hypothetical dilemma
to melancholy fact. After _The Moonstone_ the decadence unmistakably
began.
When next he came before the public with a novel of plot, and left for a
moment the righting of public wrongs, his offering was mechanical
enough. _The Two Destinies_ (1876) is built on a series of coincidences
so incredible, that even Collins' candid claim to search the very
border-line of impossibility for material of which to make a story
cannot reconcile us to their unlikelihood.
_The Haunted Hotel_ (1879), _Jezebel's Daughter_ (1880), and _I Say No_
(1884) mark a slight improvement, and can be read with pleasure for the
unfailing ingenuity of their design. _The Evil Genius_ (1886) is in the
nature of a bad relapse, from which the dramatic tales never wholly
recover, although, of the three remaining, _Little Novels_ (1887) and
_The Legacy of Cain_ (1889) are not without flashes of the old skill and
invention. _Blind Love_, finished by Sir Walter Besant and published
posthumously, may perhaps claim immunity from criticism.
As a novelist of indignation Collins is pathetic rather than
blameworthy. He had the usual fanaticisms of the invalid
intellectual—hatred of athleticism, of sport, of legal injustice, of
religious intrigue, of social insincerity; and his propaganda novels
give expression to his passionate dislikes with a petulant but rather
impressive sincerity. Fortunately for the modern reader of books which
by their very nature are now out of date, Collins did not fail, even in
his tilting at windmills, to regulate his movements with practised
skill. Wherefore all but one of the propaganda novels have
well-contrived plots and continuity of interest, which those will enjoy
who can disentangle the fictional from the instructional in the stories'
purpose. These “indignation novels” are six in number:
MAN AND WIFE (1870),
THE NEW MAGDALEN (1873),
THE LAW AND THE LADY (1875),
THE FALLEN LEAVES (1879),
THE BLACK ROBE (1871), and
HEART AND SCIENCE (1883).
That in other books are present elements of reforming zeal I am
aware—for example, the abuse of private asylums figures in _The Woman in
White_ and, as mentioned below, there is a propaganda aspect to _Basil_;
but the six above named have their origin wholly in the author's
loathing of some injustice or some social evil.
_Man and Wife_ illustrates the cruel working of the marriage laws of the
United Kingdom and, incidentally, voices the author's conviction that
athleticism was at the time rapidly brutalizing the youth of England.
_The Law and the Lady_ ventilates another grievance against legal
injustice in matters sexual. _The New Magdalen_ and _The Fallen Leaves_
are protests against the outlawry of the prostitute and of the girl who
gives herself, unhallowed by the religious rite, to love. It is strange
that, of two books on the same subject, one (_The New Magdalen_) should
be the best novel of its class and not far below the highest level ever
attained by the author, while the other (_The Fallen Leaves_) should
hold the last place among everything that Collins wrote. _The New
Magdalen_ is a moving and dignified treatment of a very difficult theme;
_The Fallen Leaves_, from its aggressive preface to its sugary, unreal
end, is tragic proof that high motive and technical efficiency may yet
come together and produce only imbecile hysteria.
_The Black Robe_ is anti-Jesuit; _Heart and Science_ anti-vivisection.
Both are readable, and the latter something more. It may be noted that
Collins himself called _Heart and Science_ his best novel since _Man and
Wife_. Probably opinion to-day would set it above that humourless and
over-appendixed story, but it must rank below _The New Magdalen_ and,
possibly, also below _The Haunted Hotel_.
The novels that remain may hardly be classified. _Antonina_, the story
of Ancient Rome, with which in 1850, and following a fashion of the day,
he began his novelist's career, is essentially a first book—painstaking,
over-elaborate, and dull.
It was succeeded by _Mr. Wray's Cash Box_ (1852), a brief and
sentimental tale, mainly interesting for the evidence it provides of
Dickens's influence over the young Collins at the very beginning of
their long friendship. Those who enjoy hearty Christmas jollity, lovable
if ludicrous old age, uncouth fidelity, incompetent villainy, and sweet
simple maidenhood will find _Mr. Wray's Cash Box_ pleasant enough.
_Basil_ (1852) and _Hide and Seek_ (1854) are novels of contemporary
life, a little sombre, emotionally a little exaggerated. There is a hint
of crusading fervour in _Basil_ (against drunken nurses and hospital
routine), but the motif is not strong enough to class the book as a
propaganda novel. The young author (as many both before and since have
done) found stimulus for these books in the pathetic figure of the
debauched girl; but she receives at his hands treatment little different
from that usually given her by serious neophytes, eager to paint her
tragic isolation for the improvement of the novel-reading public.
There is in _Hide and Seek_ an element of interest apart from that of
the story itself. Much of the action takes place in a painter's studio,
and Collins has full scope for showing his fondness for art, an
enthusiasm suitable enough in the son and biographer of a distinguished
painter, but somewhat uncommon among novelists of his age. Throughout
his work he makes play with knowledge of contemporary painting,
displaying decided and on the whole admirable taste, often well in
advance of his time.
_Poor Miss Finch_ (1872) is more a story of contemporary social life
than either a novel of mystery or one of propaganda. It may therefore
appear here as pendant to the two early books just described. The
central figure is a blind girl. In _Hide and Seek_ the author took
credit to himself for introducing a deaf mute, but as the affliction
plays no part in the story one must refrain from joining in the
applause. The blindness of Miss Finch, on the other hand, is the pivot
of her tale, and a very elaborate, improbable, and overcrowded tale it
is. The fact is regrettable. Neatly contrived, related in a series of
narratives from different sources and from different points of view,
based largely on the antagonism of two brothers, and pervaded by the
wise spirit of an elderly governess-companion, this novel is so nearly
an epitome of the methods and tricks of Wilkie Collins, that one could
wish it more thoroughly a success.
And here, save for scattered volumes of short stories and one or two
brief and unimportant novels, ends the tale of Collins's books. He is a
writer for tired minds, capable—thanks to his perfect control of the
mechanism of incident—of holding the interest without calling on the
emotional reserves of his reader. His influence on the novel of
sensation has been enormous. It is the least of his due that a
generation brought up on the mystery stories of his disciples should
find time to turn over the principal works of the master himself.
_BIOGRAPHY_
The only biography of Wilkie Collins which has yet been published is an
insignificant German book issued in 1885.
EDITIONES PRINCIPES
A.—FICTION, ESSAYS, BIOGRAPHY, ETC., AND ONE BOOK WRITTEN IN
COLLABORATION
1848
MEMOIRS OF THE LIFE OF WILLIAM COLLINS, R.A.: WITH SELECTIONS FROM HIS
JOURNALS AND CORRESPONDENCE. By his son, W. WILKIE COLLINS. London:
Longman, Brown, Green and Longmans. MDCCCXLVIII. 2 vols. Ex. Cr. 8vo
(4¾ × 7⅞).
Vol. I. pp. xii + 348. Publishers' catalogue, 32 pp., dated April
29, 1848, bound in at end.
Vol. II. pp. vi + 354.
No half-titles. Brown-purple (or grey-blue) cloth, gilt, blocked in
blind. Yellow end-papers. Vol. I. contains engraved portrait after
Linnell and engraved title-page after Collins, immediately preceding
printed title. Vol. II. contains engraved title-page after Collins,
immediately preceding printed title.
NOTE—This book was published in November, 1848.
1850
ANTONINA: Or THE FALL OF ROME. A Romance of the Fifth Century. By W.
WILKIE COLLINS, author of _The Life of William Collins, R.A._
(Quotation from Scuderi.) London: Richard Bentley, New Burlington
Street. MDCCCL. 3 vols. Tall Ex. Cr. 8vo (4⅞ × 8).
Vol. I. pp. xiv + (ii) + 295 + (1).
Vol. II. pp. (viii) + 338 + (2). Publisher's advertisements occupy
pp. (323) and (324).
Vol. III. pp. (viii) + 338 + (2). Publisher's advertisements occupy
pp. (339) and (340).
Cream embossed cloth, gilt. Yellow end-papers, printed with
publisher's advertisements.
NOTES—(i) This book was published on February 27, 1850.
(ii) Copies in paper boards, half cloth and with paper
label, were probably also issued.
1851
RAMBLES BEYOND RAILWAYS: Or NOTES IN CORNWALL TAKEN A-FOOT. By W.
WILKIE COLLINS, author of _The Life of William Collins, R.A._,
_Antonina_ etc. With Illustrations by Henry C. Brandling. (Quotation
from _A Winter's Tale_.) London: Richard Bentley, New Burlington
Street, Publisher in Ordinary to Her Majesty. 1851. 1 vol. Sq. Demy
8vo (5½ × 8¼) pp. (viii) + 304. No half-title. Twelve full-page
illustrations in tinted lithograph, printed separately. Cream-brown
cloth, gilt, blocked in blind. Yellow end-papers, printed with
publisher's advertisements.
NOTES—(i) This book was published on January 30, 1851.
(ii) The second edition (January 9, 1852) contained a
frontispiece differently tinted.
1852
MR. WRAY'S CASH BOX: Or THE MASK AND THE MYSTERY: A Christmas Sketch.
By W. WILKIE COLLINS, author of _Antonina_ etc. London: Richard
Bentley, New Burlington Street. 1852. 1 vol. Fcap. 8vo (4¼ × 6¾).
Pp. viii + 171 + (5). Publisher's advertisements occupy pp. (173) to
(176). Grey-blue cloth, gilt. Yellow end-papers. Etched frontispiece
by J. E. Millais, dated 1852, and printed separately.
NOTE—This book was published in January, 1852.
1852
BASIL: A Story of Modern Life. By W. WILKIE COLLINS, author of
_Antonina_, _Rambles Beyond Railways_ etc. London: Richard Bentley,
New Burlington Street. 1852. 3 vols. Ex. Cr. 8vo (4¾ × 7¾).
Vol. I. pp. 300 pp. (6) to (21) are paged in roman numerals.
Half-title to this volume.
Vol. II. pp. (iv) + 303 + (1). No half-title.
Vol. III. pp. (iv) + 301 + (1). No half-title.
Paper boards, half cloth, paper label, white end-papers. Also in
bright blue embossed cloth, blocked in gold and blind. Brick-red
end-papers.
NOTE—This book was published on November 16, 1852. An
one-volume edition (1862, magenta cloth, blocked in gold and
blind) contains a dedicatory letter not elsewhere published.
1854
HIDE AND SEEK. By W. WILKIE COLLINS, author of _Antonina_, _Basil_
etc. London: Richard Bentley, New Burlington Street. 1854. 3 vols.
Ex. Cr. 8vo (4¾ × 7¾).
Vol. I. pp. viii + 297 + (3). Publisher's advertisements, dated
June, 1854, occupy pp. (299) and (300).
Vol. II. pp. (iv) + 322 + (2). Publisher's advertisements, dated
June, 1854, occupy pp. (323) and (324).
Vol. III. pp. (iv) + 332.
Paper boards (half cloth), paper label. White end-papers. Also in
pale maroon cloth, gilt, blocked in blind, pale yellow end-papers.
NOTE—This book was published on June 6, 1854.
1856
AFTER DARK. By WILKIE COLLINS, author of _Basil_, _Hide and Seek_ etc.
London: Smith, Elder and Co., 65 Cornhill. 1856. 2 vols. Ex. Cr. 8vo
(4⅞ × 7¾).
Vol. I. pp. viii + 315 + (1). Publishers' catalogue, 16 pp., dated
January, 1856, bound in at end.
Vol. II. pp. (iv) + 322 + (2). Publishers' advertisement occupies p.
(323).
Boards, half cloth, paper label. White end-papers. Also in dark
grey-green cloth, gilt, blocked in blind, yellow end-papers.
_Contents_: Vol. I., A Terribly Strange Bed—A Stolen
Letter—Sister Rose. Vol. II., The Lady of Glenwith
Grange—Gabriel's Marriage—The Yellow Mask.
NOTE—This book was published in February, 1856.
1857
THE DEAD SECRET. By WILKIE COLLINS. London: Bradbury and Evans, 11
Bouverie Street. 1857. 2 vols. Ex. Cr. 8vo (4⅞ × 7¾).
Vol. I. pp. viii + 303 + (1).
Vol. II. pp. (iv) + 331 + (1). No half-title.
Grey-purple cloth, gilt, blocked in blind. Pale yellow end-papers.
NOTES—(i) This book was published in June, 1857.
(ii) Copies in brown cloth, with yellow end-papers, printed
with Chapman and Hall advertisements, are of later issue.
1859
A PLOT IN PRIVATE LIFE AND OTHER TALES. By WILKIE COLLINS, author of
_After Dark_, _Hide and Seek_ etc. Leipzig: Bernhard Tauchnitz.
1859.
1 vol. (4½ × 6¼). Pp. (viii) + 294 + (2). Paper wrappers of usual
Tauchnitz style.
_Contents_: A Plot in Private Life—Mad Monkton—The Black
Cottage—The Family Secret—The Biter Bit.
1859
THE QUEEN OF HEARTS. By WILKIE COLLINS, author of _The Dead Secret_,
_After Dark_, etc. etc. London: Hurst and Blackett, Publishers,
Successors to Henry Colburn, 13 Great Marlborough Street. 1859. 3
vols. Cr. 8vo (4⅞ × 7½).
Vol. I. pp. iii + (i) + 314. Publishers' catalogue, 16 pp., undated,
bound in at end.
Vol. II. pp. (ii) + 359 + (1).
Vol. III. pp. (ii) + 307 + (1).
No half-titles. Dark grey-green cloth, gilt, blocked in blind. Pale
yellow end-papers.
NOTE—This book was published in October, 1859.
1860
THE WOMAN IN WHITE. By WILKIE COLLINS. Author of _The Dead Secret_,
_After Dark_ etc. etc. London: Sampson Low, Son and Co., 47 Ludgate
Hill. 1860. 3 vols. Ex. Cr. 8vo (4⅞ × 7¾).
Vol. I. pp. viii + 316.
Vol. II. pp. (ii) + 360.
Vol. III. pp. (ii) + 368.
No half-titles. Preface to Vol. I., dated August 3, 1860. Violet
embossed cloth, blocked in gold and blind. Pale yellow end-papers.
NOTES—(i) This book was published in September, 1860. The
first one-volume edition (1861, magenta cloth blocked in
gold and blind) contains a special preface.
(ii) I am uncertain whether or not the earliest copies of
this novel contained in any one of the three volumes a
publishers' catalogue. The first editions I have seen show a
16 pp. catalogue at the end of Vol. III., but dated
November, 1860, so that they belong clearly to a subsequent
issue. _The Woman in White_ is a case over which the buyer
should take great care. A so-called “New Edition” was issued
in the year of publication and _with binding identical_ to
that of the first edition, for which reason only the right
advertisement matter can show that a copy is untampered
with. I should welcome information tending to establish
whether a catalogue (and if so where and of what date)
should properly figure in a “right” copy of the novel.
1862
NO NAME. By WILKIE COLLINS, author of _The Woman in White_, _The Dead
Secret_, etc. etc. etc. London: Sampson Low, Son and Co., 47 Ludgate
Hill. 1862. 3 vols. Ex. Cr. 8vo (4⅞ × 7¾).
Vol. I. pp. ix + (1) + 339 + (1).
Vol. II. pp. (iv) + 363 + (1).
Vol. III. pp. (iv) + 408.
Scarlet embossed cloth, blocked in gold and blind. Pale yellow
end-papers.
NOTE—Although this book is dated 1862, it was not actually
published until January, 1863.
1863
MY MISCELLANIES. By WILKIE COLLINS, author of _The Woman in White_,
_No Name_, _The Dead Secret_ etc. etc. etc. London: Sampson Low, Son
and Co., Ludgate Hill. 1863. 2 vols. Ex. Cr. 8vo (4⅞ × 7¾).
Vol. I. pp. vi + (ii) + 291 + (1). Publishers' catalogue, 16 pp.,
printed on text paper, and dated November, 1863, bound in at end.
Vol. II. pp. (iv) + 300. Publishers' catalogue, 16 pp., printed on
text paper and dated November, 1863, bound in at end.
Green embossed cloth, gilt. Green-ochre end-papers.
NOTES—(i) This book was published in November, 1863.
(ii) Copies in brown cloth gilt are of later issue.
1866
ARMADALE. By WILKIE COLLINS. With Twenty Illustrations by George H.
Thomas. London: Smith, Elder and Co., 65 Cornhill. 1866. 2 vols.
Demy 8vo (5½ × 8¾).
Vol. I. pp. (viii) + 304.
Vol. II. pp. (iv) + 372.
No half-titles. Vol. I. contains nine illustrations, Vol. II.
eleven. Red-brown cloth, blocked in gold. Yellow end-papers.
NOTE—This book was published in June, 1866. The story
appeared serially in the “Cornhill.”
1868
THE MOONSTONE: A Romance. By WILKIE COLLINS, author of _The Woman in
White_, _No Name_, _Armadale_, etc. etc. London: Tinsley Brothers,
18 Catherine Street, Strand. 1868. 3 vols. Cr. 8vo (5 × 7½).
Vol. I. pp. viii + 315 + (1).
Vol. II. pp. (iv) + 297 + (1). Publishers' advertisements (2 pp.)
inserted before half-title.
Vol. III. pp. (iv) + 309 + (1). Publishers' advertisements (2 pp.)
inserted before half-title.
Violet cloth, blocked in gold and blind. Cream end-papers.
NOTE—This book was published in July, 1868.
1870
MAN AND WIFE: A Novel. By WILKIE COLLINS. (Quotation from Bunyan.)
London: F. S. Ellis, 33 King Street, Covent Garden. 1870. 3 vols.
Cr. 8vo (5 × 7½).
Vol. I. pp. xiv + 356. Publisher's advertisements, 8 pp., bound in
at end.
Vol. II. pp. vi + 359 + (1).
Vol. III. pp. vi + 348.
Maroon cloth, gilt. Black end-papers.
NOTE—This book was published in June, 1870.
1872
POOR MISS FINCH: A Novel. By WILKIE COLLINS, author of _The Woman in
White_, _No Name_, _Man and Wife_, etc. London: Richard Bentley and
Son. 1872. 3 vols. Cr. 8vo (5 × 7½).
Vol. I. pp. ix + (iii) + 314 + (2). Publishers' advertisements
occupy p. (315).
Vol. II. pp. iv + 316.
Vol. III. pp. iv + 320.
No half-titles. Purple-brown cloth, blocked in black. Cream
end-papers.
NOTES—(i) This book was published on January 26, 1872. The
story appeared serially in “Cassell's Magazine.”
(ii) Copies in bright blue embossed cloth, gilt, without
imprint on spine, are of a later issue.
1873
THE NEW MAGDALEN: A Novel. By WILKIE COLLINS. “Lead us not into
temptation.” London: Richard Bentley and Son. 1873. 2 vols. Cr. 8vo
(5 × 7½).
Vol. I. pp. vi + 297 + (1).
Vol. II. pp. iv + 298 + (2). Publishers' advertisement occupies p.
(299).
No half-titles. Red-brown cloth, blocked in gold and black. Cream
end-papers.
NOTE—This book was published on May 17, 1873. The story
appeared serially in the “Temple Bar Magazine.”
1873
MISS OR MRS.? And Other Stories in Outline. By WILKIE COLLINS. London:
Richard Bentley and Son, New Burlington Street, 1873. 1 vol. Cr. 8vo
(4⅝ × 7⅛). Pp. viii + 325 + (3). Publishers' advertisement occupies
p. (327).
No half-title. Brown cloth, gilt, blocked in black. Pale yellow
end-papers.
_Contents_: Miss or Mrs.?—Blow up the Brig!—The Fatal
Cradle.
NOTE—This book was published on January 17, 1873. The
stories first appeared in “The Graphic” and in “All the Year
Round.”
1874
THE FROZEN DEEP: And Other Stories. (READINGS AND WRITINGS IN
AMERICA.) By WILKIE COLLINS. London: Richard Bentley and Son, New
Burlington Street. 1874. 2 vols. Small Cr. 8vo (4¾ × 7).
Vol. I. pp. viii + 248.
Vol. II. pp. vi + 282 + (2). Publishers' advertisements occupy pp.
(283) and (284).
Blue cloth, gilt, blocked in black. Pale yellow end-papers.
_Contents_: Vol. I., The Frozen Deep—The Dream Woman. Vol.
II., John Jago's Ghost; or The Dead Alive.
NOTES—(i) This book was published on November 2, 1874. The
title story appeared serially in the “Temple Bar Magazine”;
the remainder were first published in “Household Words” and
in the “Home Journal.”
(ii) Copies in brown cloth, with yellow end-papers, printed
with Chapman and Hall advertisements, are of later issue.
1875
THE LAW AND THE LADY: A Novel. By WILKIE COLLINS. London: Chatto and
Windus, Piccadilly. 1875. 3 vols. Cr. 8vo (4⅞ × 7⅜).
Vol. I. pp. vi + (ii) + 246 + (2). Publishers' catalogue, 40 pp.,
dated December, 1874, bound in at end.
Vol. II. pp. iv + 269 + (3). Advertisement of author's previous
works occupies p. (271).
Vol. III. pp. iv + 341 + (3). Advertisement of author's previous
works occupies p. (343).
No half-titles. Dark green cloth, gilt, blocked in blind. Pale
yellow end-papers.
NOTE—This book was published in February, 1875.
1876
THE TWO DESTINIES: A Romance. By WILKIE COLLINS. London: Chatto and
Windus, Piccadilly. 1876. 2 vols. Cr. 8vo (4⅞ × 7⅜).
Vol. I. pp. (viii) + 311 + (1).
Vol. II. pp. iv + 301 + (3). No half-title. Publishers' catalogue,
32 pp., dated April, 1876, bound in at end.
Bright green cloth, gilt, blocked in black. Cream end-papers.
NOTES—(i) This book was published in September, 1876.
(ii) I have seen a copy bound in _brown_ cloth, blocked and
lettered identically to those in bright green, and
containing a publishers' catalogue dated _September_, 1876.
Whether the brown binding is necessarily later than the
green, or whether one variety is a trial binding and the
other that finally adopted, I do not know.
1878
A SHOCKING STORY. By WILKIE COLLINS. Author of _Man and Wife_, _Woman
in White_ etc. New York: A. J. Barnes and Company, 111 and 113
William Street. 1 vol. (4½ × 6½). Pp. (ii) plus 57 + (3). This
pamphlet is not wrappered, but pp. (i) and (60) form outside covers.
Both are plain without printing of any sort.
NOTES—(i) The date 1878 appears under the note of copyright
on verso of title.
(ii) This story was issued in the November number of the
“International Review,” an American periodical published by
Barnes and Co., who brought out the pamphlet described
above. In Great Britain the tale appeared in the “Belgravia
Annual” (December, 1878), published by Chatto and Windus,
but was not reissued in other than periodical form.
1879
THE HAUNTED HOTEL: A Mystery of Modern Venice, to which is added MY
LADY'S MONEY. By WILKIE COLLINS. With six illustrations by Arthur
Hopkins. London: Chatto and Windus, Piccadilly. 1879. 2 vols. Demy
8vo (5½ × 8¼).
Vol. I. pp. viii + (ii) + 230 + (2). Publishers' catalogue, 40 pp.,
dated October, 1878, bound in at end.
Vol. II. pp. (viii) + 259 + (1).
Vol. I. contains five illustrations and Vol. II. one illustration,
line engraved and printed separately. Dark brown cloth, gilt,
blocked in white. Blue-black end-papers.
NOTES—(i) This book, although dated 1879, was actually
published in November, 1878.
(ii) _My Lady's Money_ was issued by Tauchnitz in 1879,
together with _The Ghost's Touch_, a story I cannot trace to
have appeared in book form in Great Britain.
1879
A ROGUE'S LIFE: FROM HIS BIRTH TO HIS MARRIAGE. By WILKIE COLLINS.
London: Richard Bentley and Son, Publishers in Ordinary to Her
Majesty the Queen. 1879. 1 vol. Cr. 8vo (4¾ × 6⅞). Pp. iv + 188. No
half-title. Red cloth gilt, blocked in black. Black end-papers.
NOTE—This book was published on April 7, 1879. It is the
first edition in book form of a tale issued periodically in
the early fifties in “Household Words.” The text was
slightly revised by the author before publication.
1879
THE FALLEN LEAVES. By WILKIE COLLINS. First Series. London: Chatto and
Windus, Piccadilly. 1879. 3 vols. Cr. 8vo (4⅞ × 7⅜).
Vol. I. pp. (viii) + 275 + (1).
Vol. II. pp. (iv) + 269 + (3). Publishers' advertisements, 40 pp.,
dated May, 1879, bound in at end.
Vol. III. pp. (iv) + 295 + (1).
Olive-brown cloth, gilt, blocked in black. Black and grey-blue
decorated end-papers.
NOTE—This book was published in July, 1879.
1880
JEZEBEL'S DAUGHTER. By WILKIE COLLINS. London: Chatto and Windus,
Piccadilly. 1880. 3 vols. Cr. 8vo (4⅞ × 7⅜).
Vol. I. pp. viii + 282 + (2). Publishers' catalogue, 32 pp., dated
February, 1880, bound in at end.
Vol. II. pp. (iv) + 281 + (3).
Vol. III. pp. (iv) + 296.
Pale buff cloth, gilt, blocked in black. Dark green and white
decorated end-papers.
NOTE—This book was published in March, 1880.
1880
CONSIDERATIONS ON THE COPYRIGHT QUESTION ADDRESSED TO AN AMERICAN
FRIEND. By WILKIE COLLINS. London: Trübner and Co., Ludgate Hill.
1880. 1 vol. Cr. 4to (6¾ × 9¼). Pp. 12 + (4). This pamphlet is not
wrappered, pp. (1) and (16) forming outside covers. P. (1) is
lettered as above, and serves both as front wrapper and title-page.
1881
THE BLACK ROBE. By WILKIE COLLINS. London: Chatto and Windus,
Piccadilly. 1881. 3 vols. Cr. 8vo (4¾ × 7⅜).
Vol. I. pp. vi + 320.
Vol. II. pp. vi + 296.
Vol. III. pp. vi + 266 + (6). Publishers' advertisements occupy pp.
(267) to (272). Publishers' catalogue, 32 pp., dated March, 1881,
bound in at end.
Black cloth, gilt, blocked in white. Blue and white decorated
end-papers.
NOTE—This book was published in April, 1881.
1883
HEART AND SCIENCE: A Story of the Present Time. By WILKIE COLLINS.
London: Chatto and Windus, Piccadilly. 1883. 3 vols. Cr. 8vo (4⅞ ×
7¼).
Vol. I. pp. xvi + 294 + (2).
Vol. II. pp. (iv) + 293 + (3).
Vol. III. pp. (iv) + 302 + (2). Publishers' catalogue, 32 pp., dated
March, 1883, bound in at end.
Grey-blue cloth, gilt, blocked in chocolate. Pale green and white
decorated end-papers.
NOTE—This book was published in April, 1883.
1884
I SAY NO. By WILKIE COLLINS. London: Chatto and Windus, Piccadilly.
1884. 3 vols. Cr. 8vo (4⅞ × 7¼).
Vol. I. pp. (viii) + 295 + (1). Publishers' catalogue, 32 pp., dated
March, 1884, bound in at end.
Vol. II. pp. (viii) + 296.
Vol. III. pp. (viii) + 324.
Slate-blue cloth, gilt, blocked in magenta. Pale green and white
decorated end-papers.
NOTE—This book was published in October, 1884.
1886
THE EVIL GENIUS: A Domestic Story. By WILKIE COLLINS. London. Chatto
and Windus, Piccadilly. 1886. 3 vols. Cr. 8vo (4⅞ × 7¼).
Vol. I. pp. viii + 284.
Vol. II. pp. vi + 304.
Vol. III. pp. vi + 265 + (1). Publishers' catalogue, 32 pp., dated
May, 1886, bound in at end.
Dark grey-green cloth, gilt, blocked in black. Grey and white
decorated end-papers.
NOTE—This book was published in September, 1886.
1886
THE GUILTY RIVER. By WILKIE COLLINS, author of _The Woman in White_,
_Armadale_, _The Evil Genius_ etc. Arrowsmith's Christmas Annual,
1886. Bristol: J. W. Arrowsmith, 11 Quay Street. London: Simpkin,
Marshall and Co., 4 Stationers' Hall Court. Price 1s. 1 vol. Fcap.
8vo (4½ × 6½). Pp. (viii) + 188 + (12). No half-title.
Advertisements occupy pp. (i) to (vi), p. (vii) is title-page, p.
(viii) is occupied by advertisements, as also pp. (189) to (200).
Buff paper wrappers, printed in dark blue, black and yellow.
Advertisements occupy back outside wrapper and spine, which is not
printed with title of story.
NOTE—The wording given above is that of wrapper, not of
title-page, because there exist several varieties of the
book (all of later date), which can most easily be
identified by the discrepancies between their wrappers and
that of the first issue.
1887
LITTLE NOVELS. By WILKIE COLLINS. London: Chatto and Windus,
Piccadilly. 1887. 3 vols. Cr. 8vo (4¾ × 7⅛).
Vol. I. pp. (vi) + 319 + (1).
Vol. II. pp. (vi) + 331 + (1).
Vol. III. pp. (viii) + 303 + (1). Publishers' catalogue, 32 pp.,
dated April, 1887, bound in at end.
Bright blue cloth, gilt, blocked in red. Grey and white decorated
end-papers.
_Contents_: Vol. I., Mrs. Zant and the Ghost—Miss Morris and
the Stranger—Mr. Cosway and the Landlady—Mr. Medhurst and
the Princess—Mr. Lismore and the Widow.
Vol. II., Miss Jeromette and the Clergyman—Miss Minor and
the Groom—Mr. Lepel and the Housekeeper—Mr. Captain and the
Nymph—Mr. Marmaduke and the Minister.
Vol. III., Mr. Percy and the Prophet—Miss Bertha and the
Yankee—Miss Dulane and My Lord—Mr. Policeman and the Cook.
NOTE—This book was published in May, 1887.
1889
THE LEGACY OF CAIN. By WILKIE COLLINS. London: Chatto and Windus,
Piccadilly. 1889. 3 vols. Cr. 8vo (4¾ × 7).
Vol. I. pp. viii + 289 + (1).
Vol. II. pp. vi + 263 + (1).
Vol. III. pp. vi + 281 + (1). Publishers' catalogue, 32 pp., dated
October, 1888, bound in at end.
Blue cloth, gilt, blocked in red and black. Pale grey and white
decorated end-papers.
NOTE—Although dated 1889, this book was actually published
in November, 1888.
1890
BLIND LOVE. By WILKIE COLLINS. With a Preface by Walter Besant, and
Illustrations by A. Forestier. London: Chatto and Windus.
Piccadilly. 1890. 3 vols. Cr. 8vo (4¾ × 7⅛).
Vol. I. pp. x + (ii) + 302 + (2).
Vol. II. pp. vi + (ii) + 303 + (i). Publishers' catalogue, 32 pp.,
dated October, 1889, bound in at end.
Vol. III. pp. vi + (ii) + 316.
Blue cloth, gilt, blocked in black. Pale grey and white decorated
end-papers.
NOTE—This book was published in January, 1890.
1890
THE LAZY TOUR OF TWO IDLE APPRENTICES. NO THOROUGHFARE. THE PERILS OF
CERTAIN ENGLISH PRISONERS. By CHARLES DICKENS and WILKIE COLLINS.
With Illustrations. London: Chapman and Hall, Limited. 1890. 1 vol.
Ex. Cr. 8vo (5¼ × 7⅞). Pp. vi + (ii) + 327 + (1). Dark green cloth,
gilt, blocked in black. Black end-papers. Eight full-page
illustrations in line, printed separately.
NOTE—Of the stories here published in book form for the
first time _No Thoroughfare_ first appeared as the Extra
Christmas Number to “All the Year Round” for 1867 (1 vol. 6⅝
× 9¾, pp. 48, bright blue paper wrappers, printed in black)
and _The Perils of Certain English Prisoners_ as the
“Christmas Story for 1857” in “Household Words” (1 vol., 5⅝
× 8⅞, pp. 36, buff paper wrappers printed in violet, red and
green).
B.—PLAYS, WRITTEN ALONE AND IN COLLABORATION
1861
A MESSAGE FROM THE SEA: A Drama in Three Acts. By CHARLES DICKENS and
WILKIE COLLINS. London: Published by G. Halsworth, at the office of
“All the Year Round,” Wellington Street, Strand. 1861. 1 vol. Cr.
8vo (4½ × 7¼). Pp. 68. Buff paper wrappers, printed in black.
NOTE—The story upon which this play is based appeared as the
Extra Christmas Number to “All the Year Round” for 1860 (1
vol., 6½ × 9¾, pp. 48, bright blue paper wrappers, printed
in black).
1863
NO NAME: A Drama in Five Acts. Founded on, and adapted from, the story
so entitled. By WILKIE COLLINS Esq. London: Published by G.
Halsworth, at the office of “All the Year Round.” 1863. 1 vol. Cr.
8vo (4½ × 7¼). 60 pp. Pink paper wrappers, printed in black.
NOTE—This play was also issued in De Witt's Acting Series
(No. 104), published by Robert M. de Witt, New York, in pale
yellow wrappers printed in black. The pamphlet is undated.
1866
ARMADALE: A Drama in Three Acts. (Altered from the novel of _Armadale_
for performance on the stage.) By WILKIE COLLINS. London: Published
for the author by Smith, Elder and Co., 65 Cornhill. 1866. 1 vol.
Cr. 8vo. Pp. 76. Pink paper wrappers, printed in black.
1866
THE FROZEN DEEP: A Drama in Three Acts. By WILKIE COLLINS. (Not
published.) 1866. 1 vol. Fcap. 8vo (4 × 6½). Pp. 46 + (2). Buff
paper wrappers, printed in black.
1867
NO THOROUGHFARE: A Drama in Five Acts. (Altered from the Christmas
story, for performance on the stage.) By CHARLES DICKENS and WILKIE
COLLINS. London: Published at the Office of “All the Year Round,” 26
Wellington Street. 1867. 1 vol. Cr. 8vo (4⅞ × 7¼). Pp. 89 + (1).
Buff paper wrappers, printed in black.
NOTES—(i) Another issue was made of this play under the same
date and with identical format and title-page, except for
the addition, beneath the imprint, of the words: Entered at
Stationers' Hall. This issue consists, however, only of pp.
78 + (2), and the text of the play is different from Act
IV., Scene III., to the end.
(ii) The story upon which this play is based appeared as the
Extra Christmas Number to “All the Year Round” for 1867 (see
above, _The Lazy Tour of Two Idle Apprentices_, 1890, note).
(iii) Collectors will be interested to note, as an item
in Collinsiana, an American dramatic version of _No
Thoroughfare_ which appeared as No. 348 in French's
Library of Standard Drama. This version is entitled:
IDENTITY OR NO THOROUGHFARE by Louis Lequel. Dramatized from
the Christmas Story of Charles Dickens and Wilkie Collins.
New York: Samuel French, Publisher, 122 Nassau Street.
1 vol. (4½ × 7½). Pp. 44. Yellow paper wrappers, printed in
black.
The booklet is undated, save for the statement that the play
was entered in the Clerk's Office of the District Court of
the United States for the Southern District of New York in
1867. The wrapper bears French's London as well as his New
York imprint.
1869
BLACK AND WHITE: A Love Story in Three Acts. By WILKIE COLLINS and
CHARLES FLETCHER. London: Printed by C. Whiting, Beaufort House,
Strand. 1869. 1 vol. Slim Cr. 8vo (4¾ × 7½). Pp. 56. White paper
wrappers, the first page of which serves as title and is printed as
above.
1870
NO NAME: A Drama in Four Acts. (Altered from the novel for performance
on the stage.) By WILKIE COLLINS. London: Published by the author,
90 Gloucester Place, Portman Square. 1870. 1 vol. Sm. Cr. 8vo (4½ ×
7¼). Pp. 160, of which pp. (1) to (4) are unnumbered. The rest of
the book, being printed on one side of the paper only, is paged (5)
to 82. Buff paper wrappers, printed in black.
NOTE—This is a different text from that published in 1863.
1871
THE WOMAN IN WHITE: A Drama in Prologue and Four Acts. (Altered from
the novel for performance on the stage.) By WILKIE COLLINS. London.
Published by the author, 90 Gloucester Place, Portman Square. 1871.
1 vol. Sm. Cr. 8vo (4½ × 7¼). Pp. (172), of which pp. (1) to (4) are
unnumbered. The rest of the book, being printed on one side of the
paper only, is paged (5) to 88. Buff paper wrappers, printed in
black, uniform with _No Name_.
1873
THE DREAM WOMAN: A Mystery in Four Narratives and Two Parts. By WILKIE
COLLINS. Altered and enlarged for reading in public from the
original story published in the collection called _The Queen of
Hearts_. Boston: Privately printed for the author. 1873. 1 vol.
Short Med. 4to (9 × 11⅛). Pp. 110, of which pp. (1) to (3) are
unnumbered. The rest of the book, being printed on one side of the
paper only, is paged 5 to 55. No half-title. Grey paper wrappers;
quarter grey-purple cloth. The wrappers are plain, without printing
of any sort.
1873
THE NEW MAGDALEN: A Dramatic Story in a Prologue and Three Acts. By
WILKIE COLLINS. (Represented for the first time in London at the
Olympic Theatre, May 19, 1873.) London: Published by the author, 90
Gloucester Place, Portman Square. 1873. 1 vol. Sm. Cr. 8vo (4⅜ ×
7⅛). Pp. 158, of which pp. (1) to (4) are unnumbered. The rest of
the book, being printed on one side of the paper only, is paged 5 to
81. Buff paper wrappers, printed in black, uniform with _No Name_.
1875
MISS GWILT: A Drama in Five Acts. (Altered from the novel _Armadale_.)
By WILKIE COLLINS, printed for performance at the Theatre only, not
published. 1 vol. Demy 8vo (5¼ × 8½). Pp. 104. Pp. 1 and 104 act as
outside wrappers.
1877
THE MOONSTONE: A Dramatic Story in Three Acts. (Altered from the novel
for performance on the stage.) By WILKIE COLLINS. (This play is not
published. It is privately printed for the convenience of the
author.) Charles Dickens and Evans, Crystal Palace Press. 1877. 1
vol. Cr. 8vo (4¾ × 7⅛). Pp. 176, of which (1) to (4) are unnumbered.
The rest of the book, being printed on one side of the paper only,
is paged (5) to 88. Paper wrappers, printed in black.
CHARLES READE
1814-1884
CHARLES READE
If no judgment is here attempted of the work of Charles Reade, it is
because he refuses to be “placed,” in the opinion of the present writer.
At times he is so fine, so resilient, so impressive; at others, the
dullest of pamphleteers, a cramped Meredith in style, a very waxwork
among sensationalists. Fortunately certain aspects of his powerful but
clumsy mind have of late been admirably presented. The “London Mercury”
for June, 1921 (Vol. IV., No. 20), contained an article by E. W. Hornung
which all interested would do well to read. In the matter of biography
proper students may be referred (but without confidence) to:
CHARLES READE: DRAMATIST, NOVELIST, JOURNALIST. A memoir compiled
chiefly from his literary remains by CHARLES L. READE and the Rev.
COMPTON READE. 2 vols. London: Chapman and Hall Ltd., 1887.
This pious work is too rhapsodical to possess more than personal
interest.
CHARLES READE AS I KNEW HIM. By JOHN COLEMAN. London: Treherne and Co.
1903.
Reference is made below to the useful list of plays which concludes this
otherwise rather chaotic book.
I.—EDITIONES PRINCIPES
A.—FICTION, ESSAYS, ETC.
1853
PEG WOFFINGTON: A Novel. By CHARLES READE. London: Richard Bentley,
New Burlington Street. 1853. 1 vol. Ex. Cr. 8vo (4¾ × 7¾). Pp. (iv)
+ 331 + (1). No half-title. Paper boards (half cloth), paper label.
White end-papers. Also maroon cloth, gilt, blocked in blind. Pale
yellow end-papers.
NOTE—This book, although dated 1853, was actually published
on December 17, 1852. The first edition was of 500 copies.
1853
CHRISTIE JOHNSTONE: A Novel. By CHARLES READE Esq., author of _Peg
Woffington_. London: Richard Bentley, New Burlington Street. 1853. 1
vol. Ex. Cr. 8vo (4¾ × 7¾). Pp. (iv) + 334 + (2). A note occupies p.
(335). Paper boards (half cloth), paper label. White end-papers.
Also in maroon cloth, gilt, blocked in blind. Yellow end-papers.
NOTE—This book was published on August 25, 1853. The first
edition was of 500 copies.
1856
IT IS NEVER TOO LATE TO MEND: A Matter of Fact Romance. By CHARLES
READE, author of _Christie Johnstone_, _Peg Woffington_ etc. London:
Richard Bentley, New Burlington Street. 1856. 3 vols. Slim Ex. Cr.
8vo (4¾ × 7¾).
Vol. I. pp. (iv) + 395 + (1).
Vol. II. pp. (ii) + 349 + (1).
Vol. III. pp. (ii) + 344.
Paper boards, half cloth, paper label. White end-papers. Also pale
maroon cloth, gilt, blocked in blind. Yellow end-papers.
NOTES—(i) This book was published on August 1, 1856. The
story is based on the play _Gold_ (see below, p. 171).
(ii) Reade replied to certain charges brought against the
novel in a pamphlet, but I cannot determine the details of
its title and appearance.
1857
THE COURSE OF TRUE LOVE NEVER DID RUN SMOOTH. By CHARLES READE, author
of _It Is Never Too Late to Mend_, _Peg Woffington_ and _Christie
Johnstone_. London: Richard Bentley, New Burlington Street. 1857. 1
vol. Cr. 8vo (5 × 7½). Pp. (ii) + 269 + (3). No half-title. Blue
cloth, blocked in gold. Yellow end-papers. Also in pink picture
boards.
NOTE—This book was published on September 28, 1857. The
cloth and boards editions were simultaneous.
1857
WHITE LIES: A Story. By CHARLES READE. London: Trübner and Co., 60
Paternoster Row. 1857. 3 vols. Ex. Cr. 8vo (4¾ × 7¾).
Vol. I. pp. v + (i) + 300.
Vol. II. pp. (ii) + 237 + (1).
Vol. III. pp. (ii) + 231 + (1).
No half-titles. Dark green cloth, gilt, blocked in blind. Pale
yellow end-papers.
NOTE—This book was published in December, 1857. The story,
which appeared serially in the “London Journal,” was based
on Reade's play _The Double Marriage_, itself an adaptation
from the French (see below, p. 174).
1857
*THE BOX TUNNEL. By CHARLES READE. Boston, U.S.A.
NOTE—This short story, published in “Bentley's Miscellany”
in November, 1853, was only issued in book form in America.
1858
CREAM. By CHARLES READE, author of _White Lies_ etc. Contains JACK OF
ALL TRADES: A Matter of Fact Romance and THE AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF A
THIEF. London: Trübner and Co., 60 Paternoster Row. 1858. 1 vol. Ex.
Cr. 8vo (4¾ × 7⅝). Pp. 270. Bright blue embossed cloth, gilt.
Red-chocolate end-papers.
NOTE—This book was published in March, 1858.
1859
LOVE ME LITTLE LOVE ME LONG. By CHARLES READE, author of _It is Never
Too Late To Mend_, _White Lies_ etc. London: Trübner and Co., 60
Paternoster Row. 1859. 2 vols. Cr. 8vo (4¾ × 7½).
Vol. I. pp. (viii) + 390 + (2).
Vol. II. pp. 358 + (2).
Green embossed cloth, gilt. Pale yellow end-papers.
NOTE—This book was published in April, 1859.
1860
THE EIGHTH COMMANDMENT. By CHARLES READE. London: Trübner and Co., 60
Paternoster Row. 1860. 1 vol. Demy 8vo (5⅝ × 8¾). Pp. (iv) + 379 +
(1). Dark purple-brown embossed cloth, gilt. Chocolate end-papers.
NOTE—This book was published in July, 1860, at the author's
own expense. Written in assault of those who had infringed
Reade's rights in _Poverty and Pride_ (see below, p. 172),
it proved too contentious for publishers' tastes.
1861
THE CLOISTER AND THE HEARTH: A Tale of the Middle Ages. By CHARLES
READE, author of _It Is Never Too Late To Mend_, _Christie
Johnstone_, _Peg Woffington_ etc. London: Trübner and Co., 60
Paternoster Row. 1861. 4 vols. Small Cr. 8vo (4½ × 7¼).
Vol. I. pp. (iv) + 360.
Vol. II. pp. (ii) + 384.
Vol. III. pp. (ii) + 328.
Vol. IV. pp. (ii) + 435 + (1).
No half-titles. Grey-green cloth, gilt. Pale yellow end-papers.
NOTE—This book was published in October, 1861.
1863
HARD CASH: A Matter of Fact Romance. By CHARLES READE. London: Sampson
Low, Son and Marston, 14 Ludgate Hill. 1863. 3 vols. Ex. Cr. 8vo (4⅞
× 7¾).
Vol. I. pp. (iv) + 356.
Vol. II. pp. (ii) + 365 + (1).
Vol. III. pp. (ii) + 369 + (5). Publishers' announcements, dated
December 10, 1863, occupy pages (371) to (374).
No half-titles. Grey-green cloth, blocked in gold. Pale yellow
end-papers.
NOTE—This book was published on December 15, 1863. The story
appeared serially in “All the Year Round,” for which
magazine it had been commissioned by Dickens.
1867
GRIFFITH GAUNT: Or JEALOUSY. By CHARLES READE. London: Chapman and
Hall, 193 Piccadilly. 1867. 3 vols. Ex. Cr. 8vo (4¾ × 7¾).
Vol. I. pp. (iv) + 302.
Vol. II. pp. (iv) + 318.
Vol. III. pp. (iv) + 328. Publishers' catalogue, 16 pp., dated
October, 1866, bound in at end.
Violet cloth, gilt, blocked in gold and blind. Pale yellow
end-papers.
NOTE—Although dated 1867, this book was actually published
in October, 1866. The story appeared serially in the
“Argosy.”
1868
FOUL PLAY. By CHARLES READE and DION BOUCICAULT. London: Bradbury
Evans and Co., 11 Bouverie Street. 1868. 3 vols. Cr. 8vo (4⅞ × 7½).
Vol. I. pp. (vi) + 277 + (1).
Vol. II. pp. (iv) + 278.
Vol. III. pp. (iv) + 261 + (1).
Red cloth, gilt. Cream end-papers.
NOTE—This book was published in November or December, 1868.
The story ran serially in “Once a Week” from January of the
same year. In 1881 F. C. Burnand published a parody of the
novel under the title: _Chikkin Hazard: A Novel by Charles
Readit and Dion Bounceycore_. This parody appeared in “Our
Novel Shilling Series,” published by Bradbury, Agnew and
Co., of which the other volumes are pastiches of novels by
Ouida, Victor Hugo, Hawley Smart, and Rhoda Broughton.
1870
PUT YOURSELF IN HIS PLACE. By CHARLES READE, author of _It Is Never
Too Late to Mend_, _Hard Cash_, _Foul Play_, etc. etc. (Quotation
from Horace.) London: Smith Elder and Co., 15 Waterloo Place. 1870.
3 vols. Cr. 8vo (5 × 7½).
Vol. I. pp. (iv) + 317 + (1).
Vol. II. pp. (iv) + 318 + (2).
Vol. III. pp. (iv) + 332.
Green cloth, gilt, blocked in black. Chocolate end-papers.
NOTE—This book was published in June, 1870. The story
appeared serially in the “Cornhill.”
1871
A TERRIBLE TEMPTATION: A Story of the Day. By CHARLES READE. London:
Chapman and Hall, 193 Piccadilly. 1871. 3 vols. Cr. 8vo (5 × 7⅜).
Vol. I. pp. (iv) + 303 + (1).
Vol. II. pp. (iv) + 310 + (2).
Vol. III. pp. (iv) + 300.
Purple cloth, gilt, blocked in gold and blind. Yellow end-papers.
NOTE—This book was published in August, 1871. The story
appeared serially in “Cassell's Magazine.”
1873
A SIMPLETON: A Story of the Day. By CHARLES READE. London: Chapman and
Hall, 193 Piccadilly. 1873. 3 vols. Cr. 8vo (4⅞ × 7⅜).
Vol. I. pp. ix + (i) + 272.
Vol. II. pp. (iv) + 267 + (1).
Vol. III. pp. (iv) + 305 + (1).
Maroon cloth, blocked in gold and blind. Yellow end-papers.
NOTES—(i) This book was published in August, 1873. The story
appeared serially in “London Society.”
(ii) Copies in blue cloth, gilt, are of later issue.
1874
A HERO AND A MARTYR: A True and Accurate Account of the Heroic feats
and sad Calamity of James Lambert. By CHARLES READE (2 Albert
Terrace, Knightsbridge). London: Samuel French, 89 Strand,
Publisher. 1874. 1 vol. Royal 8vo (6¼ × 9⅝). Pp. (viii) + 40. Orange
or green paper wrappers, printed in black. Publisher's
advertisements occupy inside front, and inside and outside back
wrappers. Wood-engraved frontispiece printed on text paper.
1875
TRADE MALICE: A Personal Narrative, and THE WANDERING HEIR: A Matter
of Fact Romance. By CHARLES READE. London: Samuel French, 89 Strand,
1875. 1 vol. Cr. 8vo (5 × 7½). Pp. (viii) + 279 + (1). Publishers'
advertisements occupy pp. (vi) to (viii). Green cloth, gilt. Yellow
end-papers.
NOTE—This book was published in April, 1875. _The Wandering
Heir_ was first printed in the “Graphic.”
1877
A WOMAN HATER. By CHARLES READE, D.C.L. William Blackwood and Sons,
Edinburgh and London, MDCCCLXXVII. 3 vols. Cr. 8vo (5 × 7½).
Vol. I. pp. (iv) + 280.
Vol. II. pp. (iv) + 285 + (3). Publishers' advertisements occupy pp.
(287) and (288).
Vol. III. pp. (iv) + 282 + (2). Publishers' advertisements occupy
pp. (283) and (284).
The words “Originally published in 'Blackwood's Magazine'” occupy
verso of half-title in each volume. Bright blue cloth, gilt, blocked
in black. Dark brown end-papers.
NOTE—This book was published in June, 1877. When serialized
the story was anonymous.
1877
*GOLDEN CROWNS: Sunday Stories. By CHARLES READE, D.C.L. Manchester:
Tubbs and Brooke. 1 vol. 18mo.
NOTE—This publication was of a kind known as an “18mo
packet.” It consisted of a number of loose sheets enclosed
in a paper wrapper, designed either to gum or to tuck in,
but wholly detached from its contents. Never having seen a
copy of the packet in question, I cannot do more than
conjecture that the loose sheets bore each a brief moral
tale, which a devout parent could administer Sunday by
Sunday to the deserving young.
1883
READIANA: Comments on Current Events. By CHARLES READE, D.C.L. with a
steel-plate portrait. London: Chatto and Windus, Piccadilly. 1883. 1
vol. Cr. 8vo (5 × 7½). Pp. vi + 329 + (1). Frontispiece and
title-page, printed together but not on text paper, are inset
between pp. (ii) and (iii). Publishers' catalogue, 32 pp., dated
July, 1882, bound in at end. Publishers' advertisement occupies p.
(ii). Red cloth, gilt, blocked in black, uniform with the cheap
edition of Reade's novels published just previously to this book's
appearance. Brown-purple and white decorated end-papers. Engraved
portrait frontispiece printed on same paper as title. Line engraving
on title-page.
NOTE—Although this book is dated 1883, it was actually
published in October, 1882.
1884
SINGLE HEART AND DOUBLE FACE: A Matter of Fact Romance: By CHARLES
READE, D.C.L. London. Chatto and Windus, Piccadilly. 1884. 1 vol.
Cr. 8vo (4⅞ × 7⅜). Pp. (iv) + 240. Publishers' catalogue, 32 pp.,
dated December, 1883, bound in at end. Fawn cloth gilt, blocked in
red and blue. Pale green and white decorated end-papers.
NOTE—This book was published in July, 1884. The story
appeared serially in “Harper's Magazine.”
1884
GOOD STORIES OF MAN AND OTHER ANIMALS. By CHARLES READE, D.C.L.
Illustrations by E. A. Abbey, Percy Macquoid and Joseph Nash.
London: Chatto and Windus, Piccadilly. 1884. 1 vol. Cr. 8vo (5 ×
7½). Pp. (ii) + 287 + (1). Frontispiece and title-page, printed
together but not on text paper, are inset before p. (i), pp. (i) and
(ii) forming a single leaf pasted to back of title. No half-title.
Publishers' catalogue, 32 pp., dated October, 1884, bound in at end.
Four illustrations in line, of which one is the frontispiece; all
printed separately. Red cloth, gilt, blocked in black. Uniform with
_Readiana_. Green and white decorated end-papers.
NOTE—This book was published in October, 1884.
1884
THE JILT: And Other Stories. By CHARLES READE, D.C.L. Four
Illustrations by Joseph Nash. London: Chatto and Windus, Piccadilly.
1884. 1 vol. Cr. 8vo (5 × 7½). Pp. (ii) + 282 + (2). Frontispiece
and title-page, printed together but not on text paper, are inset
before p. (i), pp. (i) and (ii) forming a single leaf pasted to back
of title. No half-title. Publishers' catalogue, 32 pp., dated
September, 1884, bound in at end. Four full-page illustrations in
line, of which one is the frontispiece; all printed separately. Line
engraving on title. Red cloth, gilt, blocked in black. Uniform with
_Readiana_. Green and white decorated end-papers.
NOTE—This book was published in October, 1884.
1884
A PERILOUS SECRET. By CHARLES READE, author of _Hard Cash_, _Put
Yourself in His Place_, _It Is Never Too Late To Mend_, _Griffith
Gaunt_ etc. London: Richard Bentley and Son, New Burlington Street,
Publishers in Ordinary to Her Majesty the Queen. 1884. 2 vols. Cr.
8vo (5 × 7½).
Vol. I. pp. (iv) + 296.
Vol. II. pp. (iv) + 312.
Red flowered cloth, gilt. Green and white decorated end-papers.
NOTE—Although this book is dated 1884, it was not actually
published until March 10, 1885. The story appeared serially
in the “Temple Bar Magazine.”
1888
BIBLE CHARACTERS: By CHARLES READE, D.C.L., author of _It Is Never Too
Late To Mend_ etc. London: Chatto and Windus, Piccadilly. 1888. 1
vol. Fcap. 8vo (4⅛ × 6½). Pp. (vi) + 106. Publishers' catalogue, 32
pp., dated September, 1888, bound in at end. Dark red paper
wrappers, gilt. Black end-papers.
NOTE—This book was published in September, 1888.
1910
A GOOD FIGHT. By CHARLES READE. Original version of _The Cloister and
The Hearth_, with an introduction by ANDREW LANG. London: Henry
Frowde. 1910. Fcap. 8vo (4½ × 6¾). Pp. (xii) + 208. Fifteen
illustrations after Charles Keene printed on text paper. Dark
olive-green cloth, blocked in gold. White end-papers.
NOTE—This is the first edition in book form of a story which
appeared in 1859 in “Once a Week.” Reade afterwards expanded
his idea into _The Cloister and the Hearth_.
EDITIONES PRINCIPES (_Continued_)
B.—PLAYS: ORIGINAL, TRANSLATED, AND WRITTEN IN COLLABORATION
[1834 or 1835]
*PEREGRINE PICKLE.
NOTE—Reade has himself left a statement that while at Oxford
he printed at his own cost a few copies of this dramatic
version of Smollett's famous novel.
[1851]
THE LADIES' BATTLE: Or UN DUEL EN AMOUR. A Comedy in Three Acts.
Hailes Lacy, Wellington Street, Strand, London. 1 vol. Fcap. 8vo (4¼
× 7¼). Pp. 35 + (1). Note on p. (3) initialled “C.R.” Salmon-pink
paper wrappers printed in black, uniform with the other volumes in
Lacy's Acting Edition, of which this is No. 47.
[1851]
ANGELO: A Tragedy in Four Acts. Adapted to the English Stage by the
author of _The Ladies' Battle_, _Peregrine Pickle_ etc. London:
Hailes Lacy, Wellington Street, Strand. 1 vol. Fcap. 8vo (4¼ × 7¼).
Pp. 24. Salmon-pink paper wrappers, printed in black, uniform with
the other volumes in Lacy's Acting Editions, of which this is No.
57.
[1852]
THE LOST HUSBAND: A Drama in Four Acts. Written and Adapted from the
French by the author of _The Ladies' Battle_. London: Thomas Hailes
Lacy, Wellington Street, Strand. 1 vol. Fcap. 8vo (4¼ × 7¼). Pp. 36.
Salmon-pink paper wrappers, printed in black, uniform with the other
volumes in Lacy's Acting Editions, of which this is No. 86.
NOTE—This play is based on a French drama, _Les Dames de la
Halle_.
[1853]
GOLD: A Drama in Five Acts. By CHARLES READE, one of the authors of
_Masks and Faces_ etc. Thomas Hailes Lacy, Wellington Street,
Strand, London. 1 vol. Fcap. 8vo (4¼ × 7¼). Pp. 48. Salmon-pink
paper wrappers, printed in black, uniform with the other volumes in
Lacy's Acting Edition, of which this is No. 152.
[1854]