Collins, Wilkie. (1824–1889) [Dickens, Henry Fielding. (1849–1933)]
Autograph Letter Signed
Autograph letter signed from the English novelist, playwright, and short story writer to Henry Fielding Dickens, son of Charles Dickens. December 29, 1884, 2 pp. on his green letterhead. Collins writes: "My dear Henry, Just a word to say how sorry I am not to have seen you when you kindly called. If I had known who my visitor was, the servant would not have repeated the customary message to you. The truth is, I am only now recovering from another attack of gout in the eye, and I am in no condition as yet to receive visitors, unless they are (like you) among the few old friends still left to me. 'Better luck next time.' Ever yours, Wilkie Collins." One large tear to the head; strip of mounting tape along the left side; light soiling; overall good. 4.5 x 7 inches (11.3 x 17.9 cm).The English novelist, playwright and short story writer Wilkie Collins was best known for The Woman in White (1859) and The Moonstone (1868), which has been called the first modern English detective novel. After his first novel, Antonina, appeared in 1850, he met Charles Dickens, who became a close friend and mentor, and published some of Collins' works in his journals All the Year Round and Household Words. Collins achieved financial stability and an international following with his best known works in the 1860s, but began suffering from gout, which led to an opium addiction.
Sir Henry Fielding Dickens, KC was the eighth of ten children born to English author Charles Dickens and his wife Catherine. The most successful of all of Dickens's children, he was a barrister, a KC and Common Serjeant of London, a senior legal office which he held for over 15 years. He was also the last surviving child of Dickens. (18070)
Literature & Classics Autograph Letter