Wilkie Collins was born in London. After school he went in commerce, working for a firm of tea importers. The job did not suit him so he went to Paris where he began writing articles and short stories. In 1846, he entered Lincoln's Inn Fields to start a career in law. In 1850, his first novel was published. In 1851, Collins met Charles Dickens en they became friends. In 1855, Dickens offered him the editorship of Household Words. Collins and Dickens worked together on various stories. In the 1860s his health started to deteriorate and he became plagued by rheumatism and gout. In 1970, Charles Dickens died which affected him greatly. In 1889, he suffered a stroke which paralysed his left side. He died a few months later.