WilkieCollinsandtheNovelofSensationCollins(1824—1889)wasthesonofasuccessfulportraitpainter.Hewasintendedtobealawyer,buthadnointerestinit.Whenhisfatherdied,hewroteabiographyofhisfatherandpublisheditatthefamily’sexpense.Heanalyzedtheliteraryprofession,andconsideredthatthemostprofitablebranchwasfiction,althoughhewasnotinneedtoearnmoneyforaliving.Collinswasalmostthefirstsignificantnovelisttoentertheprofessionbyconsciouschoice,insteadofblunderingintoitbywayofothervocations.Aftermakinghisdecision,hemasteredthecraftthroughtenyearsoftrialanderror,duringwhichhepublishedfivecommonplacenovels.LikeTrollopehehadlittlefeelingforstyle.LikeTrollopetoo,heregardednovelwritingstrictlyasabusiness.Hisfunctionasheunderstoodit,wastoentertain.Hesays,“Ihavealwaysheldtheold-fashionedopinionthattheprimaryobjectofaworkoffictionshouldbetotellastory.”AsoneofthemostpopularnovelistsinEnglandandAmericabetween1860and1889,Collinsisrememberedtodayprimarilyforhisnovelsofthe1860s,principallyTheWomaninWhite(1860)andTheMoonstone(1868).Collins’earlyworkreflectscertainlifelongcharacteristics;aninterestinmysteryandcrime;atalentforforebodingatmosphere;effectivedescriptionofsceneandintricateplot;andabeliefintheromanceanddramaofreallife.Collins’TheWomaninWhiteisacollectionofmanuscriptnarrativesbyindividualcharacters,nooneofwhomholdsallthekeystothecomplexmysteryplot.ThisdeviceenablesCollinslegitimatelytowithholdcrucialinformationandthusheightensuspensewhileatthesametimedevelopingthecharacterofeachnarrator.ParticularlymemorablearethevillainousCountFoscoandthecourageousMarianHalcombe.ContemporarycriticsrecognizedTheWomaninWhiteasanexcellentexampleandinitiatorofan用心爱心专心emergingandcontroversialsub-genre,thesensationnovel,whosemeritsweredebatedthroughoutthedecade.Sensationnovelsinthe1860s,withCollinsasacknowledgedmaster,include,notably,MrsH.Wood’sEastLynne(1861),andM.E.Braddon’sLadyAudley’sSecret(1862).Thesensationnovelhasthefollowingfeatures:subordinationofcharactertoplot;emphasisoncrime;sympathyformorallyambiguouscharacters;combinationofrealismandromance;andmelodramaticstyle.Thelossandrecoveryofsocialidentity,athemeCollinsexploredthroughouthiscareer,isclearlyrelatedtomid-Victorianinsecurity.InthecharactersofEzraJenningsandFranklinBlake,CollinscontinuesthisthemeinTheMoonstone,whosesuperbplotledT.S.Eliottocallit“thefirstandgreatestofEnglishdetectivenovels.”用心爱心专心
