Humorous narrative of Collins's and Dickens's walking tour of Cumberland during September 1857, this tale is about two apprentices who go out on a trip to find a way to be totally idle. They run into some problems along the way, and some humorous incidents.

The Lazy Tour of Two Idle Apprentices was co-written by Charles Dickens and Wilkie Collins and features two characters (Mr. Goodchild and Mr. Idle) that are stand-ins for these two. It is told over the course of what was originally five issues of Dickens' journal Household Words and depicts an "idle" (but actually quite frantic) vacation, with long walks/hikes and explorations of inns and other places. In the course, it also includes two long standalone stories—both gothic ghost stories, one that appears to be primarily by Collins and one that appears to be primarily by Dickens.

Charles John Huffam Dickens (7 February 1812 – 9 June 1893) was an English writer and social critic. He created some of the world's most well-known fictional characters and is generally regarded as the greatest novelist of the Victorian period.During his life, his works enjoyed unprecedented popularity, and by the twentieth century he was widely seen as a literary genius by critics and scholars. His novels and short stories continue to be widely popular.

William Wilkie Collins (8 January 1824 – 23 September 1889) was an English novelist, playwright, and author of short stories. His best-known works are The Woman in White, The Moonstone, Armadale, and No Name.