A Rogue's Life, from His Birth to His Marriage

📘 About This Book

A delightful tale of thwarted ambition and forbidden love, A Rogue's Life follows the fortunes of an endearing young man. Proffering his own take on picaresque storytelling-and with many a grain of truth for twenty-somethings today-this is Wilkie Collins at his entertaining best. Propelled into society by his ever-hopeful father, Frank Softly is introduced to a variety of professions in order to make his fortune. Not industrious by nature, however, Frank finds working life a challenge, and by his 25th birthday, he has failed medicine, portrait-painting, caricaturing, and even forgery. Disenchanted with life, he despairs of ever finding something to commit to-until he meets Alicia Dulcifer and her inexplicably wealthy father. The author of The Woman in White and The Moonstone, Wilkie Collins is widely regarded as the originator of the detective novel....... William Wilkie Collins (8 January 1824 - 23 September 1889) was an English novelist, playwright, and short story writer. His best-known works are The Woman in White (1859), No Name (1862), Armadale (1866) and The Moonstone (1868). The last is considered the first modern English detective novel. Born into the family of painter William Collins in London, he lived with his family in Italy and France as a child and learned French and Italian. He worked as a clerk for a tea merchant. After his first novel, Antonina, was published in 1850, he met Charles Dickens, who became a close friend, mentor and collaborator. Some of Collins's works were first published in Dickens' journals All the Year Round and Household Words and the two collaborated on drama and fiction. Collins published his best known works in the 1860s, achieved financial stability and an international reputation. During that time he began suffering from gout. After taking opium for the pain, he developed an addiction. During the 1870s and 1880s the quality of his writing declined along with his health. Collins was critical of the institution of marriage and never married; he split his time between Caroline Graves, except for a two-year separation, and his common-law wife Martha Rudd, with whom he had three children. Collins was born at 11 New Cavendish Street, Marylebone, London, the son of a well-known Royal Academician landscape painter, William Collins and his wife, Harriet Geddes. Named after his father, he swiftly became known by his middle name, which honoured his godfather, David Wilkie. The family moved to Pond Street, Hampstead, in 1826. In 1828 Collins's brother Charles Allston Collins was born. Between 1829 and 1830, the Collins family moved twice, first to Hampstead Square and then to Porchester Terrace, Bayswater.Wilkie and Charles received their early education from their mother at home. The Collins family were deeply religious, and Collins's mother enforced strict church attendance on her sons, which Wilkie disliked. In 1835, Collins began attending school at the Maida Vale academy. From 1836 to 1838, he lived with his parents in Italy and France, which made a great impression on him. He learned Italian while the family was in Italy and began learning French, in which he would eventually become fluent.From 1838 to 1840, he attended the Reverend Cole's private boarding school in Highbury, where he was bullied by a boy who would force Collins to tell him a story before allowing him to go to sleep.....

📖 Summary

Wilkie Collins, renowned worldwide for his masterworks of suspense such as The Woman in White and The Moonstone, offers readers a remarkably witty and lighthearted excursion into picaresque storytelling with A Rogue's Life, from His Birth to His Marriage. Spanning a brisk seventy-eight pages in its modern edition, this charming narrative chronicles the misadventures of Frank Softly, an endearing young man whose journey into adulthood is defined by a distinct lack of traditional industry and a persistent series of comical failures. Propelled enthusiastically into society by his ever-hopeful father, Frank is given every opportunity to find his niche and make his fortune. Yet, working life proves to be a formidable challenge for a youth who is simply not industrious by nature. The novel follows Frank as he drifts from one prospective career to another, tasting the bitter waters of thwarted ambition. By the time he reaches his twenty-fifth birthday, his resume includes a colourful assortment of abandoned pursuits. He has managed to fail at medicine, portrait-painting, caricaturing, and, most audaciously, even forgery. Disenchanted with the relentless demands of the working world and despairing of ever finding a vocation to which he can genuinely commit, Frank's outlook shifts dramatically upon a chance encounter. He crosses paths with the lovely Alicia Dulcifer and her inexplicably wealthy father. This meeting introduces the dynamic of forbidden love into Frank's chaotic existence, offering a new, albeit complicated, purpose to his days. Through Frank's candid reflections, Collins delivers a delightful tale that playfully satirizes the societal pressures placed upon youth to find immediate success. While written in the nineteenth century, the book carries a surprising grain of truth that will resonate deeply with twenty-somethings today who find themselves navigating the anxieties of career indecision and existential drift. Frank's perpetual shifting between professions mirrors the modern struggle to find meaningful work in an overwhelming economic landscape. Collins expertly balances humor and heart, ensuring that Frank remains an utterly lovable rogue despite his lack of genuine achievements. Readers seeking a fast-paced, humorous, and insightful glance into the trials of early adulthood will find this lesser-known gem to be Wilkie Collins at his most entertaining best.

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