Across the span of a single decade, Robert Browning and Wilkie Collins published, respectively, a poem and two novels with similarly innovative structures. All three works are multiple narratives; that is, they are narrated by several of their characters who function both as actors and witnesses. All three were immediately popular, and all three continue to be regarded as major achievements of their audiors.The Woman in White, serialized inAll the Year Roundfrom 1859 to 1860, quickly became the talk of London and remained so preeminent among Collins's novels that in his will he requested as his epitaph, “author ofThe Woman in Whiteand other works of fiction.”The Ring and the Book, begun in 1864 and inspired by a source that Browning found in 1860, was issued in four volumes, two in 1868 and two in 1869. LikeThe Woman in White, it was widely discussed and admired, exalting Browning's reputation even among readers who had earlier been critical.The Moonstone, begun in 1867 and published serially inAll the Year Roundduring 1868, was not initially as popular as the other two, although its publisher reported that “crowds of anxious readers” waited for the latest serial installments; but today it is Collins's most celebrated novel, often (though inaccurately) cited as the first detective novel in English.
« You don’t suspect me of doing anything wrong, do you ? » Peurs, soupçons et paranoïa dans The Woman in White de Wilkie Collins
