were unusually short, he had a large swelling on his forehead (a forceps delivery gone bad), he
was genial and good-natured, he had tiny feet. Collins suffered from gout, rheumatism, boils and
a bad back; for pain management he used laudanum, and later morphine as he tried to wean
himself from the laudanum. The laudanum (opium dissolved in alcohol) was consumed in
large quantities, particularly as he wrote The Moonstone, allowing him to write sections of the
novel as though he were in a trance. He became a laudanum addict in his thirties.
Collins has been described as "the most sweet tempered of Victorian novelists."
He never married but spent the last 20 years of his life dividing his time between 2 mistresses.
At age 34 Collins (living at home with his mother, a noted a noted hostess, and brother)
met a widow with a young daughter, Caroline Graves age 25. In 1858 until
his death in 1889 they lived together, with the exception of the years 1868-1871. Caroline
was known as Collin's housekeeper, did not attend dinner parties with him, probably was not
introduced to his mother; but, Caroline entertained Collin's friends at their home, she
traveled with him abroad and nursed him when he was ill. They spent nearly 30 years together,
they are buried in the same grave.
So why did they live apart from 1868 - 1871? Perhaps it was Collins refusal to marry her,
perhaps it was Collins taking up with Mistress #2, Martha Rudd. We do know that Caroline
left Collins in 1858 to marry someone else but in 1871 she returned to living with
Collins, accepting the presence of Mistress #2.
What do we know about Martha Rudd? She was a semi-educated 19 year old barmaid
when she met the 40 year old Collins. He set Martha in nearby housing under
the name of Mrs. Dawson. Collins assumed the persona of Mr. William Dawson, Barrister at Law,
when they were together or traveling on holidays. Their union produced 3 much-loved
(born in 1869, 1871 and 1874) but illegitimate children.
When Collins died in 1889, Martha did not attend the funeral, she was represented by a wreath.
Collins in his will divided up the income from his estate between Caroline and Martha and
their 3 children, who were acknowledged in the will.
the creation of the female characters in his novels? The Woman in White was published
in 1860 and has never been out of print. What is your experience of the book? Is it still
relevant? What can you say about the writing style 150 years ago and what is popular today?
What books today will still be published and read 150 years from now?
Come to our first book discussion on:
Thursday, October 5 from 10 AM to 11:30 AM
Read! Read!! Read!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!