Book contents
- Frontmatter
- CONTENTS
- Dedication
- Acknowledgements
- List of Figures
- Preface
- Introduction
- 1 First Considerations of an American Tour
- 2 Underway to America
- 3 An Auspicious Welcome: New York City
- 4 The Tour Begins: Upstate New York
- 5 Readings and Responses: Philadelphia, Boston and New York
- 6 The Second Swing: Baltimore and Washington
- 7 A Change of Managers: The Northeast
- 8 The ‘Double Difficulty’: Montreal, Toronto and Buffalo
- 9 The Final Circuit: Cleveland, Detroit and Chicago
- 10 Arguments and Accolades: Return to New England
- 11 Winding Down: New York and Wallingford
- Conclusion: Wilkie Collins and the American People
- Appendix A ‘The Dream Woman’
- Appendix B Performance Summary
- Appendix C Itinerary
- Appendix D Contacts
- Appendix E Press Portraits
- Notes
- Works Cited
- Index
5 - Readings and Responses: Philadelphia, Boston and New York
- Frontmatter
- CONTENTS
- Dedication
- Acknowledgements
- List of Figures
- Preface
- Introduction
- 1 First Considerations of an American Tour
- 2 Underway to America
- 3 An Auspicious Welcome: New York City
- 4 The Tour Begins: Upstate New York
- 5 Readings and Responses: Philadelphia, Boston and New York
- 6 The Second Swing: Baltimore and Washington
- 7 A Change of Managers: The Northeast
- 8 The ‘Double Difficulty’: Montreal, Toronto and Buffalo
- 9 The Final Circuit: Cleveland, Detroit and Chicago
- 10 Arguments and Accolades: Return to New England
- 11 Winding Down: New York and Wallingford
- Conclusion: Wilkie Collins and the American People
- Appendix A ‘The Dream Woman’
- Appendix B Performance Summary
- Appendix C Itinerary
- Appendix D Contacts
- Appendix E Press Portraits
- Notes
- Works Cited
- Index
Summary
Collins had a well-publicized reading scheduled in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, on 17 October. His was to be the inaugural programme in a series of ‘literary and musical entertainments’ at Horticultural Hall. The series included such headliners as Harriet Beecher Stowe, the controversial Charles Bradlaugh, Rev. Henry Ward Beecher and Mrs. Scott Siddons, who was to give Shakespearian readings in costume. Tickets for each performance were available at $0.50 for general admission and $0.75–$1.00 for reserved seats, or $5.00 for the whole series of nine. Thus Collins was not only to introduce the series, but tickets could be economically purchased for nine evenings of entertainment, including ‘pleasant musical interludes in connection with each’.
The Philadelphia newspapers anticipated the reading, citing the positive report from Albany and adding,
We await anxiously his arrival in Philadelphia, an event which is now happily close at hand. It would content us only to look at and listen to one who has so often been the companion of a solitary hour, or the delight of a social one, while from the printed page he told some strange story.
Everything appeared favourable for a successful performance. On Friday evening, 17 October, the hall was full to overflowing, with many forced to occupy seats on the stage. The audience consisted of ‘persons of note … in social and literary circles’. As the Philadelphia Press put it,
No better proof could have been given of the popularity of his writings than this unusual gathering of intelligent people. Nor could anything be more hearty than their welcome when he made his appearance. It reminded us of the honors to Dickens.
As advertised, the evening began with musical entertainment. Liszt's ‘Wedding March’ was followed by a violin and piano duet of ‘William Tell’. Finally, ‘the curiosity of the vast assemblage was gratified’ at 8.00 when Collins appeared on the platform. He made a few introductory remarks:
Ladies and Gentlemen: I have no pretensions to appear as an actor or elocutionist, but simply to read my story before a large parlor of, I hope I may say, friends, and then leave it to rest on any merits it possesses.
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- Information
- Wilkie Collins's American Tour, 1873–4 , pp. 37 - 48Publisher: Pickering & ChattoFirst published in: 2014