| The
Wilkie Collins Society has published, as a small
booklet, The First Complete Edition of "The Victims
of Circumstance", with an Account of How the Third
Sketch Was Lost and Found. This refers to a series
of short "true-crime" stories written by Collins for the
Boston paper, the Youth's Companion, in 1886. As
Graham Law, of the Collins Society, explains, "Up to now
scholars have thought that only two sketches, 'A Sad
Death and Brave Life' and 'Farmer Fairweather' were
written and published . . . . Collins in fact wrote a
third sketch in the series, entitled 'The Hidden Cash'."
It appeared in the Companion, at a later date
than intended, but has not seen the light of day since.
'J.C.', Notice in the 'NB' column, Times Literary Supplement,30 August 2002 |
| The First complete edition of Victims
of Circumstances Discovered in Records of Old Trials. It
had always been thought that Collins wrote only two of
these short pieces based on miscarriages of justice--"A
Sad Death and Brave Life" and "Farmer Fairweather". . .
Recent work by Graham Law in connection with the
forthcoming edition of Collins's letters suggested the
existence of a third article. Some astute detective
work, worthy of Sergeant Cuff himself, tracked down the
original manuscript of "The Hidden Cash" at Stanford
University Library and the story is now republished for
the first time since it originally appeared in 1887.
Full details of its disappearance and rediscovery are
explained in the meticulously researched introduction.
Unsigned Notice in Wilkie Collins Society Newsletter (Summer 2002) |