Wilkie Collins (1824–1889), born William Wilkie Collins, spent a portion of his childhood traveling across Europe. He was educated in England, Italy and France before entering an apprenticeship at a local tea merchant. He also studied law and began a writing career, publishing his first story “The Last Stage Coachman” in 1843. Collins would go on to produce more than 30 novels, becoming one of the premier architects of the modern English detective story.