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COLLINS, WILLIAM WILKIE. 1824-1889. Autograph Manuscript Signed ("Wilkie Collins"), entitled "Fie! Fie! or, The Fair Physician: (Edited, Under the Instructions of Mrs. Crossmichael)," 20 pp, 4to, London, c.1882,
11 April 2016, 10:00 EDT
New YorkSold for US$17,500 inc. premium
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COLLINS, WILLIAM WILKIE. 1824-1889.
Autograph Manuscript Signed ("Wilkie Collins"), entitled "Fie! Fie! or, The Fair Physician: (Edited, Under the Instructions of Mrs. Crossmichael)," 20 pp, 4to, London, c.1882, in ink with extensive author's revisions throughout, with a double-signed photograph of the author by Sarony pasted down to the verso of the upper cover. Leaves mounted on heavier paper and bound in blue levant half-morocco. Pages lightly toned and soiled, some leaves loose and others partly split at seam, but with no loss of text, upper cover detached.
Provenance: Wilkie Collins (Sotheby, Wilkinson & Hodge, Catalogue of the Original Manuscripts by Charles Dickens and Wilkie Collins, London, June 18, 1890, Lot 35); American Art Association, Anderson Galleries, New York, 1923, lot 144; Swann, April 21, 1994, lot 131.
The Fair Physician, the story of a woman doctor was, in a sense, an early example of a feminist story line. It was first published simultaneously in The Spirit of the Times, December 23, 1882; and The Pictorial World Christmas Supplement. Although Collins wrote it in haste and noted on the proof sheets of the story on January 15, 1887, that it was "not worth reprinting in book form," it did appear in The Seaside Library, 1883, New York: George Munro, pp 10-15. Since then it has been reprinted many times, and so perhaps in this case, the author was wrong! "Fie! Fie!" was one of the first works of fiction to include a female doctor as one of its major characters while acknowledging women as healthy sexual beings. Dr. Sophia Phillico, an ardent supporter of Woman's Rights, tries to seduce a male patient she has fallen in love with and is determined to break up his relationship with another woman. "Fie! Fie!" was also an early example of a male writer, choosing a feminine voice, to tell his story from the woman's point of view.
Provenance: Wilkie Collins (Sotheby, Wilkinson & Hodge, Catalogue of the Original Manuscripts by Charles Dickens and Wilkie Collins, London, June 18, 1890, Lot 35); American Art Association, Anderson Galleries, New York, 1923, lot 144; Swann, April 21, 1994, lot 131.
The Fair Physician, the story of a woman doctor was, in a sense, an early example of a feminist story line. It was first published simultaneously in The Spirit of the Times, December 23, 1882; and The Pictorial World Christmas Supplement. Although Collins wrote it in haste and noted on the proof sheets of the story on January 15, 1887, that it was "not worth reprinting in book form," it did appear in The Seaside Library, 1883, New York: George Munro, pp 10-15. Since then it has been reprinted many times, and so perhaps in this case, the author was wrong! "Fie! Fie!" was one of the first works of fiction to include a female doctor as one of its major characters while acknowledging women as healthy sexual beings. Dr. Sophia Phillico, an ardent supporter of Woman's Rights, tries to seduce a male patient she has fallen in love with and is determined to break up his relationship with another woman. "Fie! Fie!" was also an early example of a male writer, choosing a feminine voice, to tell his story from the woman's point of view.