WilliamWilkieCollinswasborninLondonin1824,theeldestsonofasuccessfulpainter,WilliamCollins.Hestudiedlawandwasadmittedtothebarbutneverpracticedhisnominalprofession,devotinghistimetowritinginstead.Hisfirstpublishedbookwasabiographyofhisfather,hissecondafloridhistoricalromance.ThefirsthintofhislatertalentscamewithBasil(1852),avividtaleofseduction,treachery,andrevenge.
In1851CollinshadmetCharlesDickens,whowouldbecomehisclosefriendandmentor.CollinswassoonwritingunsignedarticlesandstoriesforDickens'smagazine,HouseholdWords,andhisnovelswereserializedinitspages.Collinsbroughtouttheboyish,adventuroussideofDickens'scharacter;thetwonoveliststraveledtoItaly,Switzerland,andFrancetogether,andtheirtravelsproducedsuchlightheartedcollaborationsas"TheLazyTourofTwoIdleApprentices."Theyalsosharedapassionforthetheater,andCollins'smelodramas,notably"TheFrozenDeep,"werepresentedbyDickens'sprivatecompany,withDickensandCollinsinleadingroles.
Collins'sfirstmysterynovelwasHideandSeek(1853).HisfirstpopularsuccesswasTheWomaninWhite(1860),followedbyNoName(1862),Armadale(1866),andTheMoonstone(1868),whoseSergeantCuffbecameaprototypeofthedetectiveheroinEnglishfiction.Collins'sconcentrationontheseamiersideoflifedidnotendearhimtothecriticsofhisday,buthewasamongthemostpopularofVictoriannovelists.Hismeticulouslyplotted,oftenviolentnovelsarenowrecognizedasthedirectancestorsofthemodernmysterynovelandthriller.
Collins'sprivatelifewasanopensecretamonghisfriends.Hehadtwomistresses,oneofwhomborehimthreechildren.Hislateryearsweremarredbyalongandpainfuleyedisease.Hisnovels,increasinglydidactic,declinedgreatlyinquality,buthecontinuedtowritebydictatingtoasecretaryuntil1886.Hediedin1889.