Wilkie Collins Plaque

In the heart of Marylebone, a plaque on 65 Gloucester Place whispers tales of a literary giant. This is the Wilkie Collins Plaque, commemorating the novelist who once called this grand Georgian terrace home. Wilkie Collins, author of “The Woman in White” and “The Moonstone,” resided here from 1867 to 1888. He meticulously referred to the location as Portman Square. This distinguished it from another Gloucester Place near Westbourne Grove, avoiding any confusion for his visitors. Imagine Collins within these walls, a short man with stooping shoulders, bright face framed by a shock of light-gray hair. He would sit at his massive writing table, a smaller desk similar to Dickens’ perched atop it. Nearby, a japanned tin box held his “stock-in-trade” – plots and schemes for future stories. A painting by his father, a Royal Academician, graced the wall, a silent witness to his creative endeavors. Collins relished the house’s double drawing-room, where he penned many of his gripping narratives. The four-story home boasted a large stone staircase and, out back, stables Collins leased to offset the rent. His chosen family resided here too: Caroline Graves, her daughter Harriet, three servants, and his beloved dog, Tommie. The Wilkie Collins Plaque marks more than just a residence. It represents a pivotal period in Collins’s life, where he crafted tales that continue to enthrall readers today. The house, though once neglected, stands as a testament to the enduring legacy of Wilkie Collins, a master of Victorian sensation fiction.