Collins, Wilkie (1824-1889) - English novelist. Collins was one of the first
writers of detective and mystery novels. He was a close and influential
friend of Charles Dickens with whom he occasionally collaborated.
The Woman in White (1860) - This mystery novel's intricate plot hinges on
the resemblance of an English heiress to a mysterious woman who is confined
in an asylum. The villain, Sir Percival Glyde, hoping to obtain the heiress'
fortune has her put into the asylum in place of the dying "woman in white."
