Radio Times

Review by:

Laurence Joyce

Peter Ackroyd’s fascination with London literary figures continues in his new biography of the author of The Woman in White, Wilkie Collins. The son of an artist, the young Collins was expected to follow in his father’s footsteps, but the success of his first work of fiction and a meeting with Charles Dickens changed all that.

Ackroyd calls Collins “the sweetest-tempered of all the Victorian novelists” and unravels the writer’s mysterious and unusual life with all his customary flair and affection for his subject. The reader is the actor Michael Pennington.

About this programme

By Peter Ackroyd, abridged by Libby Spurrier. An exploration of Victorian novelist Wilkie Collins' life, covering his childhood as the son of a well-known artist, his struggle to become a successful writer and the friendship he formed with Charles Dickens. Read by Michael Pennington.

Cast and crew

Cast

Reader

Michael Pennington

Crew

Abridged By

Libby Spurrier

Producer

Joanna Green

Writer

Peter Ackroyd

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