Scope and arrangement
This is a synthetic collection consisting of manuscripts, correspondence by and about the author, a diary for 1867 and 1868, and legal documents. The manuscripts include holographs of stories, bibliographies, and notes for various works, as well as a manuscript copy in the hand of an amanuensis with holograph sections of "The Lighthouse." The correspondence includes letters, dating from 1849 to 1888, from the author to George Bentley, Richard Bentley, Peter Cunningham, George Smith, and others. Also included are letters relating to the author, dating from 1862 to 1898, between various correspondents including Harriet Elizabeth Bartley, Sir Walter Besant, Sir Hall Caine, Samuel Lucas, Harriet Martineau, the literary agency A. P. Watt & son, and others. There are letters to Collins from George Bentley, Charles Collins, Charles Dickens, A.P. Watt and Son, and others, dating from 1859-1891.
The Wilkie Collins collection of papers are arranged in four series: