Dickensians! discussion
Novellas and Collaborative Works
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The Wreck of the Golden Mary (hosted by Petra) - 2nd Summer Read 2021
Sara, they truly are two remarkable authors. The characters in their stories come to life and become real to us readers. These people matter to us, very much. I don't think I could ever get tired of the works of these two authors.
Quick question...what is the schedule for reading Deliverance?
Sue, I don't have a real schedule. John Steadiman's account is a short section, so I think Deliverance will be posted sometime over the weekend or the beginning of the week. I am trying to gauge by discussion and give everyone some time to comment, if they so wish. If we have more to discuss in a section, I'll wait to post the next.
Would you be ready for Deliverance soon?
I loved how Collins picked up the idea Dickens laid down; about the Captain going to sleep "still standing" (that is with his clothes still on but his shoes off) and then wove it into this next part of the story with the Captain's feet covered with a jacket. As Sara mentioned, the writing is seamless. Is this because Wilkie Collins and Charles Dickens were great friends?
Bridget, they were very good friends. They were both such good authors. I think if I were stuck on a deserted island and had their complete works with me, I'd never run out of reading material.
My heart ached for the Captain when we found out about his missing shoes. He never complained and no one noticed. He must have been in discomfort and cold.But his passengers and crew, their mental well-being and health came first. He is a generous soul and dedicated to the duty of his ship, crew and passengers. What a brave, conscientious man.
I had to look up "still standing". It does mean going to bed with your clothes on, shoes or not. The captain just happened to take his shoes off. While I didn't get the meaning when I read the passage, it made sense when I learned what it meant. One was still ready for duty and was "on call", even while sleeping. With one's clothes on, one was ready to be "still standing" at duty, even at rest.
It's interesting how these terms are so accurate and to the point, and yet we've stopped using them in our everyday life. Perhaps they weren't used everyday back then either but used only by sailors and nautical folk.
And that is exactly the kind of detail that makes this work remarkable. Just that one thing we know about him defines his character and makes him mean so much more to us.I believe Jean had mentioned Captain Cuttle, and I kept thinking of him myself as I was reading.
Sara, I agree. Dickens puts so much into just a few words. It's also a pact, it seems, between him and his readers. He believes that they will "get it" and see the depths of what he's saying. I wish I'd thought of Captain Cuttle while reading this. It's a perfect match. He has the same sense of duty and commitment as Captain Ravender and John Steadiman.
Diane wrote: "I had mentioned earlier that I found a copy on Hoopla, a library supported app here in the states. Imagine my horror when it was only the account written by Dickens, and left me stranded in the lif..."This happened to me too. They were in the middle of the ocean, half dead from starvation and cold, with no hope in sight, and it just ended! I, also, was able to find the ending online.
Katy wrote: "This happened to me too. They were in the middle of the ocean, half dead from starvation and cold, with no hope in sight, and it just ended! I, also, was able to find the ending online...."
Katy, that's so annoying!
I read the reviews here on Goodreads and that's when I found out that most were reviewing only the first section. The ratings are low and that's understandable when only reading part of the story but thinking it's the whole thing.
I'm glad you found the rest of the story, Katy. Jump in with your thoughts when you can.
I guess it makes sense to only publish the Dickens authored section if you're providing Dickens work, but there should be a warning that there's more to the story. I doubt that any reader would be happy left in the middle of the ocean.The detail about the Captain's shoes certainly made me revere and appreciate him all the more. It also indicates how closely aligned the two authors were, since Collins picked up on that detail to spotlight the Captain's sense of duty.
Mod
So yes, I think we can tell a difference. Wilkie Collins's style is quieter, slightly more sombre and less dramatic. His imagery is superb. I too liked the part Petra picked out, that the moon shone “so white and ghastly”. (Thanks again for this great summary, Petra, which is now linked to the first comment.) Wilkie Collins is a master at thrilling us, but he doesn't develop it into something grotesque, as Charles Dickens might have done. And he does not employ humour.
Both have their own unique style, and it's fun to identify tiny differences. I don't think it's seamless, but you can be sure that they discussed it together. As Petra said, they were great friends.
For those who read The Lazy Tour Of Two Idle Apprentices with us last summer, that pinpoints the differences between them, characterising Wilkie Collins as Mr. Thomas Idle, and Charles Dickens as Mr. Francis Goodchild. You won't find Charles Dickens's exuberance in Wilkie Collins, but you will find a solidly crafted piece with carefully mounting tension. I think each was good for the other!
Mod
Oh yes several have mentioned this haven't they, and it is so Dickensian! I can't help thinking that there was a little nudge from Charles Dickens there, as he so often uses shoes, feet and footsteps to indicate more than they seem to. It's one of his regular motifs. Yet it's Wilkie Collins who uses it to great effect here, with such pathos :)
I felt like I almost could feel the ocean waves bobbing the surf boat up and down in the pitch darkness . I even felt the air wetting my skin from the ocean spray. The writing is totally immersive. It made me part of the evacuees anxiously searching for rescue.
Diane wrote: "I guess it makes sense to only publish the Dickens authored section if you're providing Dickens work, but there should be a warning that there's more to the story. I doubt that any reader would be ..."I think I'd prefer to have the entire story published in the collected work by Dickens, with a note stating that Dickens only wrote the first part and the rest was authored by others. I'd prefer this because of completeness of story and because it's now rather difficult to find the entire story. Except for Wilkie Collins, the other authors have mostly (fully?) faded away over time and their contributions are forgotten (mostly).
But, yes, if only Dickens' part was to be published, it would be nice to be told that there was more to the story. It would be a shock to have the story end at the Captain's account. Readers would rightfully wonder what Dickens' intent was for this story.
Bionic Jean wrote: "Diane wrote: "The detail about the Captain's shoes certainly made me revere and appreciate him all the more ..."Oh yes several have mentioned this haven't they, and it is so Dickensian! I can't help thinking that there was a little nudge from Charles Dickens there, as he so often uses shoes, feet and footsteps to indicate more than they seem to. It's one of his regular motifs. Yet it's Wilkie Collins who uses it to great effect here, with such pathos :)..."
Diane and Jean, the shoes (or lack of) was a surprising moment. It certainly showed him to be a man concerned about the needs of others above the needs for himself. Not once, in this ordeal, did he complain.
When one thinks about the rains, winds and splinters of the boat (as the very least of discomforts the Captain endured), for the length of time they were at sea, it shows the Captain as a dedicated and focussed man in the service to others.
It is fun to contemplate whether Dickens nudged Collins (or the other authors). I'd like to think that he didn't, that he sat back and let the story develop as it would. But I'm not sure he could stay completely out of the continuation of his story without some nudges. :D
Bionic Jean wrote: "So yes, I think we can tell a difference. Wilkie Collins's style is quieter, slightly more sombre and less dramatic. His imagery is superb. I too liked the part Petra picked out, that the moon shone “so white and ghastly”. (Thanks again for this great summary, Petra, which is now linked to the first comment.) Wilkie Collins is a master at thrilling us, but he doesn't develop it into something grotesque, as Charles Dickens might have done. And he does not employ humour..."Jean, it's Wilkie Collins' lack of humor, perhaps, that makes this such a dark section. I had a distinct feeling of darkness and a sense of dismay & hitting rock bottom, the lowest point possible.
As a reader, I felt a sinking of hope for them all.
And yet, John Steadiman took the helm. He continued. It was a wonderful moment.
Lori wrote: "I felt like I almost could feel the ocean waves bobbing the surf boat up and down in the pitch darkness . I even felt the air wetting my skin from the ocean spray. The writing is totally immersive...."Lori, I agree. There's an intensity in the writing that includes the reader right down to these details of feeling the ocean spray and waves. We really feel included in the story, as if we were there and not in our comfortable homes.
Mod
Yep, Charles Dickens always made sure he had that editorial veto. Like it or not, "Household Words" was very much his show.
Jean, he did like a sense of control. To me, it's one of his contrasting personality traits. He's such a warm, friendly man with lots of friends, plenty of good times. This shows compromise and unity, then there's the more business side where he needs the control, which rather implies a rigid side and (perhaps) less unity but without the loss of friendliness. Dickens was an interesting personality. I think that every time I read something about his life.
Jean, thank you for linking the summary to the first post.
Mod
I wonder if Wilkie Collins was less psychologically damaged ... though I know he had his own troubles ... you know a lot about him Petra; what do you think?
Petra:You referred to other writers in a very recent comment. However, this link you shared earlier,
https://www.djo.org.uk/indexes/magazi...
seems to imply that there aren’t any others - that Dickens and Collins were the only authors.
Bionic Jean wrote: "I wonder if Wilkie Collins was less psychologically damaged ... though I know he had his own troubles ... you know a lot about him Petra; what do you think?.."Jean, it's not me that knows about the life of Wilkie Collins. I'll do some quick looking to see what I can find.
Perhaps a Wilkie Collins bio would be a nice side read one day?
Kathleen wrote: "Petra:You referred to other writers in a very recent comment. However, this link you shared earlier,
https://www.djo.org.uk/indexes/magazi...
seems to imply that there aren..."
Kathleen, the story, in it's original form, was written by a total of 6 people.
Dickens wrote the first part, The Wreck.
Collins wrote John Steadiman's Account (which, I think is considered part of The Wreck because it's never mentioned anywhere as a section) and Deliverance.
Dickens and Collins wrote connecting passages between the various stories that tied them all together as a whole. That link you posted doesn't list the other authors, just the titles of the stories. It's a shame the authors didn't get credit.
I'll be posting those connecting passages at the beginning of each section that has them when we start that section.
In between, John Steadiman's Account and Deliverance are 5 stories, told by passengers & crew during the story sessions we heard about in The Wreck. Those 5 stories were written by 4 different authors. We'll be exploring them more when their stories come up for discussion.
I have to admit, that I didn't know any of this when I chose this story for our summer read. I went strictly by title because I don't know any of Dickens' short stories, other than the ones we've read here. I was surprised to find so many versions and variations. And very surprised to find out how many people were involved in it's coming together as a whole.
I hope it's an interesting mix for us all.
We'll next move on to Deliverance, then go back to look at the five stories, one by one.
Mod
Oh, I know several here enjoy Wilkie Collins's work - as do I - but must have misremembered about you knowing about his life. I know some of it but would need to check my facts ... it's a bit off-topic, so please don't worry!
Jean, I'm delighted with the story, too. The title stuck out and the story is really enjoyable. One thing about Dickens is that he never disappoints. He's always got an interesting angle or idea in his stories, no matter how long or short they are.
I hope everyone is enjoying this story as much as I am.
A basic biography of Wilkie Collins:(I added the bits in parentheses)
Wilkie Collins was born on Jan. 8, 1824 in London. He was the eldest of two sons of William Collins, a landscape artist and a member of the Royal Academy, and his wife Harriet Geddes, a former governess.
He spent one year at a preparatory school, then went with his family to Italy, where they stayed from 1837 to 1838. In Italy, the Collins family visited archaeological ruins and museums and resided in a number of cities, including Rome, Naples, and Sorrento, before returning home.
Wilkie then boarded at a boys' school from 1838–1841. There, Collins was bullied into telling stories to the other boys at night because he had learned Italian and had picked up on plots from foreign literature and was not shy in bragging about it.
At age 17, Collins started his first job with a tea merchant. The shop was located on The Strand in London. The heady atmosphere of The Strand—a major thoroughfare populated by theaters, law courts, taverns, and newspaper editorial offices—gave Collins ample inspiration to write short articles and literary pieces in his spare time. His first signed article, "The Last Stage Coachman," appeared in Douglas Jerrold's Illuminated Magazine in 1843.
In 1846, Collins became a law student at Lincoln's Inn. He was called to the bar in 1851, but never practiced law.
Collins' first novel, Ioláni; Or, Tahíti as It Was: A Romance, was rejected and didn't resurface until 1995. His second novel, Antonina, or the Fall of Rome was only one-third of the way finished when his father died. After the elder Collins' death, Wilkie Collins started work on a two-volume biography of his father, which was published in 1848. That biography brought him to the attention of the literary world.
(Memoirs of the Life of William Collins, Esq., R. A, Vol. 1: With Selections from His Journals and Correspondene
Memoirs of the Life of William Collins, Esq., R. A.: With Selections from His Journals and Correspondence, Volume 2)
In 1851, Collins met Charles Dickens, and the two writers became close friends. Dickens was a supporter, colleague, and mentor for Collins. Dickens and Collins influenced one another and even co-wrote several short stories. Dickens supported Collins by publishing some of his stories, and it is possible that the two men were knowledgeable of the other's sexual alliances.
Sensation Genre
The "sensation genre" of writing was an early stage in the development of the detective novel and offered a hybrid of domestic fiction, melodrama, sensational journalism, and gothic romances. The plots contained elements of bigamy, fraudulent identity, drugging, and theft, all of which took place within the middle-class home.
Wilkie Collins was the most popular and is today the best-remembered of the sensational novelists. Other practitioners included Mary Elizabeth Braddon, Charles Reade, and Ellen Price Wood.
Personal Life
Wilkie Collins never married. It has been speculated that his close knowledge of Charles and Catherine Dickens' unhappy marriage may have influenced him.
In the mid-1850s, Collins began living with Caroline Graves, a widow with one daughter. Graves lived in Collins' house and looked after his domestic affairs for most of thirty years. In 1868, when it became clear that Collins would not marry her, Graves briefly left him and married someone else. However, she and Collins reunited two years later after Graves' marriage ended.
While Graves was away, Collins became involved with Martha Rudd, a former servant. Rudd was 19 years old, and Collins was 41. He established for her a few blocks away from his home. Together, Rudd and Collins had three children. The children were given the surname name "Dawson," as Dawson was the name Collins used when he bought the house and visited Rudd. In his letters, he referred to them as his "morganatic family."
(morganatic = relating to or denoting a marriage in which neither the spouse of lower rank, nor any children, have any claim to the possessions or title of the spouse of higher rank.)
By the time he was in his late thirties, Collins was addicted to laudanum, a derivative of opium, which featured as a plot point in many of his best novels, including The Moonstone. He also travelled throughout Europe and led a fairly lavish and sybaritic lifestyle with his traveling companions, including Dickens and others he met along the way.
(sybaritic = fond of sensuous luxury or pleasure; self-indulgen)
Wilkie Collins died in London on Sept. 23, 1889, at the age of 69, after having suffered a debilitating stroke. His will divided what proceeds were left from his writing career between his two partners, Graves and Rudd, and the Dawson children.
The sensationalism genre faded in popularity after the 1860s. However, scholars credit sensationalism, especially Collins' work, with reimagining the Victorian family in the midst of social and political changes of the Industrial Age. He often depicted strong women who overcame the injustices of the day, and he developed plot devices that the next generations of writers such as Edgar Allan Poe and Arthur Conan Doyle used to invent the detective mystery genre.
T.S. Elliot said of Collins that he was the "first and greatest of modern English novelists." Mystery writer Dorothy L. Sayers said that Collins was the most genuinely feminist of all the 19th century novelists.
Regarding another Sensation Genre author mentioned above, Charles Reade:In my 20s, I borrowed The Cloister and the Hearth from the library, due only to it's title. It was wonderful. I had to rush back to get Volume 2 when I finished the first. It was a real gem of a find.
A few times over the years, I've thought about taking it out again and rereading it, as I don't remember the plot at all. Just the feeling that it's a wonderful story.
I just checked and it's still in the library! After all these years!
Petra, I just read the GR description of The Cloister and the Hearth and it does sound interesting. Thanks for all of your information on Collins. I knew that he had been influential but not that he was esteemed by many. Such an interesting time that mid-19th century. So much development.
Your welcome, Sue, I learn so much from this group.I think Wilkie Collins would have loved to know that his first book was published 100 years after his death.
I also find it amusing that "the boys" went to Europe for self indulgent, sensual vacations. It sounds very much like a Victorian "what happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas" escapade.
(for our non-North Americans, there's a saying here in recent years "What happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas", meaning that anything goes while in Vegas and it's never talked about)
(Sorry if I'm explaining the obvious. I'm never sure how far these local phrases travel around the world)
I know what you mean. That’s part of the fun of an international group like this, comparing colloquialisms.
Mod
Charles Reade is a classic English author; we read The Cloister and the Hearth at school. I think it was the longest book we read, but I enjoyed it too :) Strangely enough we didn't study Charles Dickens at all, nor read him in class. Reading the GR page on Charles Reade, it says that he wasn't highly regarded by critics - but that was exactly the perception of Charles Dickens when I was at school. He was out of fashion, and considered not literary enough!
Thank you, Jean and Sue. Jean, I can't recall reading Dickens in school. We read Oscar Wilde, Orwell and Hemingway, plus others.
I had never heard of Charles Reade before picking up his book. It's a shame it's not more read. (maybe I should reread the book before saying that but I recall not putting it down)
I didn't know what a yard was and, just in case, am adding a definition here:Yard = a spar on a mast from which sails are set.
Deliverance
In the morning, John takes stock and calculates that it is now a Thursday and he believes that no one in either boat would live past the coming Sunday. After serving out the morning ration of coffee beans, there was nothing in the lockers and only a wine-bottle of fresh water left. John notices that eating the last few morsels of food gave no one any energy……except in Mr. Rarx. He seems energized after his meal of water and coffee beans.
Mr. Rarx’s has started to ramble again; are now about him digging a gold mine & tunnelling into the earth at a rate of 30-40 miles per hour.
John attends to Miss Coleshaw and Mrs. Atherfield to give them their share of food. Mrs. Atherfield is hard to wake. She’s muttering words of walking with Lucy along a lake shore, buttercups are blooming. Golden Lucy is collecting the flowers and making a chain of them. Both were carrying baskets & going to dine under a tree on the bank.
John tries to give his last share of water to the captain but he is lying coma-like in the boat and cannot take it.
The rowers are weak. They drop off into a semi-sleep at their oars. John contemplates the dangers of this and knows that all may be lost. He resolves to rig the best sail he can while the weather & wind are mild and give everyone one last chance of survival.
The real sails for the life boats had been on the Golden Mary & sunk with her. John rallies the crew. Half are to stay at the oars, half are to help him construct sails. He tells everyone that this is their last and only hope. They have rope for riggings (thanks to the Captain for stocking the lifeboats with them), one oar was used for a mast, John’s large pilot coat was the sail. They need a knife to make a “yard” and find one in the Captain’s pockets; a large knife, with many blades & a saw. The crew manage to complete the task and fashioned a sort of lug-sail.
The Surf boat followed the example and also rigged a lug sail. Both ships set their sails together. At noon the wind rose. The boats were driven North & by East.
John felt the cold of losing his coat but the men on either side of him sat close to ensure they shared their warmth with him. He directs 6 men to set a watch on the rigging to prevent capsizing as the wind was picking up strength. The watch on the sails is changed every 2 hours, all other eyes watch the waters for a ship. Miss Coleshaw is getting fainter, Mrs. Atherfield is getting restless.
Close to sunset and the winds are at half a gale. The clouds lift at the horizon leaving a strip of pale greenish sky, tipped with burning crimson by the sun. At that moment, a crew member seizes John around his neck, while looking Westward. John looks at him in surprise and sees a look of joy as the man looks seaward. Not mutiny! A man at the helm is also standing and looking westward. John looks and sees, in the strip of sky on the horizon…..a sail!
They take to watching the sail, steering the two boats towards that direction. John keeps control over the crew as the joy and jubilation shown by the crew threatens to rock the boat.
It is now an hour (60 minutes) before the darkness falls and there is no lantern to light to beckon the ship or make it notice them. The boats cannot go faster. Time is running out.
John tries not to feel despair at the distance between them and the ship. The ship is so far away. It was impossible to make out for certain the direction that the ship was steering towards. Only a half an hour of daylight left.
As the clouds came in and the sun sets, the crew grew despondent. John urges them to calm and set an example of courage for the passengers. As darkness falls, the crew become quiet, read their bibles, let their minds wander. Silence falls over everyone. Despondency is on them all.
Twice through the night the clouds parted and the moonlight fell on the boats.
On the first, the last of the water was divided amongst all. Their supplies are now completely gone. Miss Coleshaw and Mrs. Atherfield barely move; the Captain doesn’t move at all. The rest are slightly stronger but barely so. Some men have energy to raise themselves and look for the ship. Their despair is deep.
John gives them a task to keep the despair at bay and keep Hope alive, despite the impossible odds of success: they should all shout at regular intervals to try to attract the attention of the ship, should it sail close to them and hear them. The men rise to the occasion and give a shout every 5-10 minutes.
During the dark pause between the 2 cloud partings, Mr. Rarx starts to ramble and rave again. He is laden with gold in his gold mine but cannot get out; water is rising at the bottom of the shaft. He sees Lucy’s white frock at the top of the mine shaft. He screams at her that the water is rising and the gold is heavy and she must come down quickly if she is to help him. Mr. Rarx struggles to his knees at the sight of the moon and waves his handkerchief. “There she is” he calls. He continues to call to Golden Lucy to save him and his gold; the waters are rising in his gold mine. Golden Lucy should save him and let the rest perish.
Just then, a large wave comes up, tilting the boat to one side and washes Mr. Rarx overboard. He cannot be saved and drowns.
John calls out but no one else notices; all continue to look for the ship. The clouds come in again, the wind drops and changes direction. No thought is thought except the thought of where the ship might possibly be.
The sky starts to light; dawn is coming. Will the ship save them or are they doomed? At the first streak of light, all who could looked breathlessly over the waters. As the light strengthened, what could they see but the ship!!!! At the sight of it, the men gave thanks to God for saving them all. Those on the long boat see the ship rescue those on the surf-boat; an hour later they, too, were being rescued.
John faints and remembers no more for a week. When he comes to, he asks about the crew & passengers. Two had died; one passenger from the long-boat; one crew from the surf-boat. The rest would likely recover. Mrs. Atherfield improved quickest, Miss Coleshaw recovered slower, the Captain could still not move or speak.
John is helped on deck to get fresh air. Mrs. Atherfield comes on deck next. She grieves for Lucy and stares out over the sea, Lucy’s grave. Later that day, John sees her by Captain’s bedside, nursing him. Shortly afterwards, Miss Coleshaw is strong enough to help nurse the Captain. Before long he, too, was strong enough to come up on deck.
The Captain & John discuss a course of action with the Captain of the brigantine, who agrees to take them to the first California coasting vessel that will take them to California. They quickly come across one on the waters. Three days after leaving the brigantine, they touched land on the shores of California and were soon all parted.
Captain Ravender escorted Mrs. Athfield inland to her husband. Miss Coleshaw went with them to spend some time before getting on with her plans. The rest went to the gold diggings while waiting for the captain to return. Some were bitten by the gold bug and remained. John, Rames and 5 steady seamen were all the crew left to welcome the captain back. They find a ship needing crew to take them back to England. The captain travels as a passenger. No incidents on the way back.
John & captain go ashore at Gravesend, safe, and go to London quickly by train, report to the owners of the Golden Mary and return home. The captain to his estate in Poplar; John to West England to his mom & dad.
John adds a few words:
In the summer of 1856, he was in New York and went to have dinner. Across the table he sees Mrs. Atherfield, with her husband .....and another Golden Lucy! The young girl looks very much like Lucy.
The group spends an evening catching up on news.
Miss Coleshaw is married to her old sweetheart, who got a bit off-track in life and who she is determined to set right by being a good wife. They are settled in America.
Wilkie Collins did a great job of increasing the suspense in "Deliverance." The passengers saw the ship an hour before darkness so the reader wonders if the ship will pass by the lifeboats during the night. The crew and passengers were in such bad shape that they would not live much longer if they did not intersect with the path of the ship.Thanks for the bio on Wilkie Collins, Petra. I want to read one of his mysteries someday.
I very much enjoyed the ending, and the suspense was horrible, even though I knew they would be saved. I could feel what the people in the boat felt, and that is no small feat by an author. To give you hints and comments all along, and still make you wonder whether they would be saved or not, well, that is something!
There is a tension during this last segment that is palpable. Will they miss the ship, will the weakened passengers survive, will they make it back to England...just getting on board to ship back would take courage, I should think. Collins is a delightful writer. I have read several of his books and will eventually get to more of them. Thanks for the biographical material, Petra. You have done a wonderful job of guiding this discussion, and this is just one example of ways you have gone beyond for us!
I am not familiar with Reade, although I added the suggested book to the TBR. I am always surprised to know that in England Dickens was not taught, while in my American school we did a Dickens every year from 9th to 12th grade. One Dickens and one Shakespeare.
"Quick, Golden Lucy! screams Mr Rarx, and creeps under the thwarts right forward into the bows of the boat. "Quick! my darling, my beauty, quick! The gold is heavy, and the water rises fast! Come down and save me, Golden Lucy! Let all the rest of the world drown, and save me! Me! me! me! me!"Mr Rarx was feeling like he was down in the gold mine and might be drowned. He was shouting for the Golden Lucy to save him. It gave me the impression that he was thinking of hell, and the Golden Lucy was an angel or saint. He was such an obnoxious, greedy man that had not lived a good life, and now he wanted her to save him.
Mod
Yes, I agree. I suppose editors often have difficult decisions like this to make, but it's so difficult in this case to find the whole text, as you say, so it wasn't really a good decision. I have a complete Wilkie Collins on my kindle, so perhaps the same has been done there.
Petra, if "John Steadiman's Account" is considered part of "The Wreck", does that mean it is misattributed to Charles Dickens? What a muddle! I don't expect any of the authors involved realised the works would be preserved for posterity though, and I don't expect they would have been, if it wasn't for the fame of Charles Dickens.
You can still buy an odd copy of "Household Words" or "All the Year Round" in antiquarian bookshops even now, and find these forgotten authors, although Charles Dickens was keen to keep his authors in house, and often their works were not published under their name. This includes The Woman in White! When it was first serialised, Wilkie Collins's name did not appear! That only happened later with the play and the novel.
I've read 4 novels by Wilkie Collins, and some sensational short stories. There are some great sensational short stories by female Victorian writers; I have a book of them and it includes Mary Braddon, Louisa May Alcott and Charlotte Brontë! No I can't remember much about The Cloister and the Hearth either, so must try it again. But I'm fairly sure it should be in libraries, since it's a classic.
I've linked "Deliverance", but not yet read it. I always thought the bracket from where the sails were suspended was called a "yardarm" but must be mistaken. Or perhaps "yard" is a shortening of the term?
I agree with Sara, you really are going above and beyond for us all with this read Petra! You've raised the yardarm!! I'll link your Wilkie Collins bio after all the stories. We probably won't read a full biography of him in "Dickensians!" as a group, as it's not central, although there's nothing to stop it being a buddy read. And I'm sure we'll read more of the cooperative ventures between him and Charles Dickens. Thank you again :)
I'll come back to comment when I've read more.
I just can’t get over how kind and unselfish these sea men are who think not of themselves but of their passengers and crew. How difficult it must have been to be so calm in a distressing situation. It really demonstrates how much the captain and John affected the others by calming providing tasks to distract their minds and keep chaos from occurring. There was definitely enough tension as has been said in the writing to keep the reader guessing what the outcome would be, even though we knew they were going to be saved. I also enjoyed Collins’ part in this and like Connie want to read his mysteries - hopefully one this year.
Connie, Diane, Sara, the tension was very much in the foreground. Like Sara, I wondered whether they would survive....knowing that at least the Captain and John did, as they wrote the accounts. But I was on pins and needles, watching for that ship as much as they all were.
Connie wrote: "Wilkie Collins did a great job of increasing the suspense in "Deliverance." The passengers saw the ship an hour before darkness so the reader wonders if the ship will pass by the lifeboats during t..."An hour before darkness......another 6 in the story!
Connie wrote: "Thanks for the bio on Wilkie Collins, Petra. I want to read one of his mysteries someday..."Your welcome. It's interesting to see how different their early lives were.
Wilkie grew up in a somewhat artistic family, what with his father being a landscape artist. With the travels he was exposed to a lot of history and cultures at an early age, too.
I've enjoyed all of his books that I've read. I don't think you can go wrong with any of them.
Connie wrote: ""Quick, Golden Lucy! screams Mr Rarx, and creeps under the thwarts right forward into the bows of the boat. "Quick! my darling, my beauty, quick! The gold is heavy, and the water rises fast! Come d..."Good quote, Connie!
Throughout this read, Mr. Rarx has been selfish, unlikeable and somewhat of a loner. Yet, I wondered whether this was just because we didn't know him. Some loners, in real life, can appear selfish and unlikeable because of they can give out a "vibe" of not wanting to interact. I wondered whether Mr. Rarx was being misunderstood.
But this sentence that you quoted made it so plain and horrifying. His calling out "Me! Me! Me!" when all others were suffering as well, showed, without a doubt, that he was truly selfish and horrible.
Diane wrote: "I very much enjoyed the ending, and the suspense was horrible, even though I knew they would be saved. I could feel what the people in the boat felt, and that is no small feat by an author. To give..."Me, too, Diane! I could feel their fears and hopes in my belly. It's incredible writing.
Jean, this link ( https://www.djo.org.uk/indexes/magazi... ) was most helpful of what I found about this story.It states:
" The Wreck of the 'Golden Mary was divided into three major sections:
'The Wreck' by Dickens (with a concluding segment by Wilkie Collins);
'The Beguilement in the Boats' - a section composed of 'The Armourer's Story' by Percy Fitzgerald, 'Poor Dick's Story' by Harriet Parr ('Holme Lee'), 'The Supercargo's Story' by Percy Fitzgerald, 'The Old Seaman's Story' by Adelaide Anne Procter, and 'The Scotch Boy's Story' by the Rev. James White;
and a final section, 'The Deliverance,' by Wilkie Collins. "
Dickens started this story, then handed "command" over to Collins, just as Captain Ravender handed command over to John. :D
At the end of that article is says:
Dickens probably wrote the following hitherto unidentified and uncollected passages of The Wreck of the 'Golden Mary': the concluding paragraph of 'The Wreck'; the opening paragraph of 'The Armourer's Story'; the introduction to 'Poor Dick's Story'; the conclusion to 'Poor Dick's Story'; the introductory sentence to 'The Supercargo's Story'; the introductory sentence to 'The Old Seaman's Story'; the opening paragraph after the rescue (the first paragraph after the typographical break in 'The Deliverance')
.....so he didn't give complete "command" to Collins. He kept his fingers in the pie. Hahaha.....
Sara and Jean, thank you. I'm having a lot of fun with this read. We still have The Beguilement of the Boats to go through. Some true spookiness occurs in these.
Dickensians!
Books mentioned in this topic
The Life of Charles Dickens : Volume II (other topics)The Life of Charles Dickens : Volume II (other topics)
The Woman in White (other topics)
David Copperfield (other topics)
Dombey and Son (other topics)
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Authors mentioned in this topic
Charles Dickens (other topics)Arthur Conan Doyle (other topics)
Elizabeth Gaskell (other topics)
Charles Dickens (other topics)
Wilkie Collins (other topics)
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That passage would fit just as well in this short account of John's but the darkness isn't around them but inside them. They are facing the darkest time right now and, again, can't see any light or way out.
Thank you for posting this passage.