Book contents
- Frontmatter
- CONTENTS
- Dedication
- Acknowledgements
- List of Figures
- Preface
- Introduction
- 1 First Considerations of an American Tour
- 2 Underway to America
- 3 An Auspicious Welcome: New York City
- 4 The Tour Begins: Upstate New York
- 5 Readings and Responses: Philadelphia, Boston and New York
- 6 The Second Swing: Baltimore and Washington
- 7 A Change of Managers: The Northeast
- 8 The ‘Double Difficulty’: Montreal, Toronto and Buffalo
- 9 The Final Circuit: Cleveland, Detroit and Chicago
- 10 Arguments and Accolades: Return to New England
- 11 Winding Down: New York and Wallingford
- Conclusion: Wilkie Collins and the American People
- Appendix A ‘The Dream Woman’
- Appendix B Performance Summary
- Appendix C Itinerary
- Appendix D Contacts
- Appendix E Press Portraits
- Notes
- Works Cited
- Index
Appendix E - Press Portraits
- Frontmatter
- CONTENTS
- Dedication
- Acknowledgements
- List of Figures
- Preface
- Introduction
- 1 First Considerations of an American Tour
- 2 Underway to America
- 3 An Auspicious Welcome: New York City
- 4 The Tour Begins: Upstate New York
- 5 Readings and Responses: Philadelphia, Boston and New York
- 6 The Second Swing: Baltimore and Washington
- 7 A Change of Managers: The Northeast
- 8 The ‘Double Difficulty’: Montreal, Toronto and Buffalo
- 9 The Final Circuit: Cleveland, Detroit and Chicago
- 10 Arguments and Accolades: Return to New England
- 11 Winding Down: New York and Wallingford
- Conclusion: Wilkie Collins and the American People
- Appendix A ‘The Dream Woman’
- Appendix B Performance Summary
- Appendix C Itinerary
- Appendix D Contacts
- Appendix E Press Portraits
- Notes
- Works Cited
- Index
Summary
A month into Wilkie's American tour, the Rochester Union and Advertiser observed,
If there is any one thing more than another that Wilkie Collins will find to admire in this country, it will be these pen portraits of himself.
This prescient statement is confirmed by a comparison of press reviews along the course of his tour:
Wilkie Collins was described as:
a short, thick-necked man of five feet four
small in stature
medium in height
rather below the medium size
a rather tall man
one of the most diminutive specimens
an undersized gentleman
small and podgy
a fine bred man of medium size
rather under the usual height
above what is called the medium height
what he lacks in height he makes up in breadth;
his beard was:
bushy and white
full grey
slightly tinged with grey
full black, flecked with grey;
he resembled:
the late Edward M. Stanton [US Secretary of War]
Dickens
Dr. Pease [of Syracuse]
a not very distinguished person
the picture on the 50-cent scrip
pictures of him
not quite what is suggested by his portraits
a hearty, whole-souled, thorough-going, vigorous, active gentleman;
regarding his manner:
his walk was of a tip-toe fashion … mincing
[he had] a vigorous look and manner of walking
he tripped across the stage
he stepped into view with [a] swinging step
[he was] slightly stooping in the shoulders
he stepped …with a firm, quick step
[he] was as natural as … a child;
and as a reader:
he exhibited exceptionally fine powers
he was far from being faultless
he was more than fair
[he had] a monotonous cockney accent
he read in a very clear and distinct manner
[he] emphasized … unimportant words
his enunciation was clear and distinct
he was more colloquial than dramatic
his voice [had] depth and volume
his style of reading was very quiet
he was distinctly audible
his voice was too low for our great halls
[he] succeeded better than was expected
[he was] unquestionably a failure.
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- Information
- Wilkie Collins's American Tour, 1873–4 , pp. 119 - 120Publisher: Pickering & ChattoFirst published in: 2014