One night, on a lonely road, Walter Hartright meets a woman dressed completely in white. What he doesn't know is that she is going to change everything. After that encounter, he is constantly reminded of the woman and he becomes interested in her mysterious character. Why does she know so much about the place he now lives in? Why does she seem to fear people in that area? And why are certain people afraid of the mere mentioning of her?This is considered to be one of the first mystery novels, as well as one of the first sensation novels. That is quite understandable, and I think there were many surprises in store for the 19th century readers. However, some of the things indicated were a little too distinct. The pace varied a lot, and was slow-going at times. Except that, there's mostly positive things to tell about it. The plot is very carefully written and has it's charm. It is written in a beautiful, very english language and some of the emotional parts are clearly memorable."She had put on the dress which I used to admire more than any other that she possessed - a dark blue silk, trimmed quaintly and prettily with old-fashioned lace; she came forward to meet me with her former readiness; she gave me her hand with the frank, innocent good will of happier days. The cold fingers that trembled round mine; the pale cheeks with a bright red spot burning in the midst of them; the faint smile that struggled to live on her lips and died away from them while I looked at it, told me at what sacrifice of herself her outward composure was maintained. My heart could take her no closer to me, or I should have loved her then as I had never loved her yet." - Walter Hartright.Spoiler's alert!The characters are wonderfully crafted, with all their emotions and human flaws.Walter Hartright came off as a little too mainstream, and even foolish, walking alone on a solitary road in the middle of the night, when knowing he was being followed. But he grew on me during his struggles to reveal the truth, and proved to be very competent to take care of the ones he loved. It was interesting to follow his development."There are many varieties of sharp practitioners in this world, but, I think, the hardest of all to deal with are the men who overreach you under the disguise of inveterate good humour." - Walter Hartright."The best men are not consistent in good - why should the worst men be consistent in evil?" - Walter Hartright.Laura was beautiful and kind, but unfortunately totally naive and transparent most of the time. She was a real lady, according to custom. She was the only character that I didn't really get to know.Count Fosco, the italian gentleman with something up his sleeve, was one of the more developed characters. He was intelligent, manipulating, admiringly competent, self-composed and deceiving. He and Sir Percival Glyde came alive, and their personalities so differed from each other, and complemented each other, when the Count lacked moral feelings and Percival was weak."The fool's crime is the crime that is found out; and the wise man's crime is the crime that is not found out." - Count Fosco."I say what other people only think; and when all the rest of the world is in a conspiracy to accept the mask for the true face, mine is the rash hand that tears off the plump pasteboard, and shows the bare bones beneath." - Count Fosco.My absolute favourite character was Marian Halcombe, the strong-minded and determined sister of Laura. She didn't have the best of starts, being described as having a tall, striking figure, but ugly features, and a strict and manly manner. But soon, you realized what an inspiring woman she was! The way she took care of Laura, respected Hartright, suspected Fosco and despised Percival, portrayed her character as clever and insightful. I guess women weren't supposed to think like her back then, but she didn't care and she was respected for it. She even earned the authoritative Fosco's deep admiration - and fear? - of her intelligent, independent mind. The relationship between the two half-sisters was wonderful. They were the complete opposites of each other. Marian was strong and Laura dependent, and they really needed each other. There's no doubt Marian is the star of the book, shared, perhaps, by Fosco."Any woman who is sure of her own wits, is a match, at any time, for a man who is not sure of his own temper." - Marian Halcombe.And, of course, the mysterious woman in white, was a tragic character with a tragic destiny. One comment, meant to give her power, destroyed her life. Her ending was very sad, but at the same time she got what she really wanted, in a way, and that was a relief."So the ghostly figure which has haunted these pages as it haunted my life, goes down into the impenetrable Gloom. Like a Shadow she first came to me, in the loneliness of the night. Like a Shadow she passes away, in the loneliness of the dead." - Walter Hartright.The book contains a lot of different themes, but is first and foremost a mystery/crime/detective-story. There's blackmail, deception, disguises, mistaken identities, secret societies, spies and people determined to find out the truth, and bring the people responsible to justice. Other constant themes are the importance of marrying for love and not for comfort or conscience, and to follow your intuition, which might be the only thing that can save you. It was easy to be swept away, but, unfortunately, equally hard to get back into, when continued the next day.Except the tedious parts, it's a rather good read.
I’ve been terribly torn over the question of whether of not to re-read Wilkie Collins. You see, I fell completely in love with his major works when I was still at school, and I was scared that I might tarnish the memories, that his books might not be quite as good as great as I remembered.I’m thrilled to be able to say that my fears were unfounded. The Woman in White was better than I remembered. A brilliantly constructed and executed tale of mystery and suspense, written with real insight and understanding.The story begins with Walter Hartwright, a young drawing master, unable to settle the night before he is to leave London to take up a new post in the north of England. The hour is late, but he decides to take a walk. The streets are quiet, the city asleep, and yet a woman appears before him. She is dressed entirely in white and she is distressed, afraid of someone or something. He offers her assistance, helps her on her way to what she believes will be a place of safety.Walter takes up his new post, tutoring two half-sisters at Limmeridge House in Cumbria. Laura Fairlie is beautiful, and she is an heiress. Marion Halcombe is neither of those things, but she is bright and resourceful. She needs to be. Walter recognises names and places spoken of by the woman in white. Her plight is linked to the family at Limmeridge House and the secret she holds will have dire consequences, for Laura, for Marion, and for Walter.That is just the beginning, but it’s all I’m going to say about the plot. Wilkie Collins asked reviewers not to tell too much, and I think he was right to do so. If you’ve read the book you will understand why, and if you haven’t you really, really should!I was held from the first page to the last and, though this is a big book, the last page came very quickly. Because there were so many twists, so many questions, that I had to turn the pages quickly. It’s lucky that Collins writes maybe the most readable prose of all the Victorian greats!The structure was intriguing. This is an account put together after the events, with testimonies from a number of narrators who were witnesses to different events. It worked beautifully, and with none of the fuss or distraction that sometimes seems inevitable with this device. All of the voices were engaging and distinctive. And their appearances varied in length, so I was always curious to know who would be coming next, when they would appear, and what forms their testimonies would take.And it was the characters who made the story sing. Each one beautifully drawn, enough to keep the story moving but not so many that it becomes difficult to keep track.There are two standouts. Marion Halcombe is the finest heroine you could wish for, accepting of her position, doing whatever she can to help the situation, and wise enough to know when it is time to step back and allow others to take the lead. And she is capable, but not invulnerable. And, on the other hand there is the most charming villain you could wish to meet. Count Fosco knows that, used together, charm and intelligence can take you a long way in life, that little foibles add to the charm, and can be a wonderful distraction.And then, in the background, there is Frederick Fairlie, Laura’s uncle and master of Limmeridge House. An invalid, whose obsessive, selfish concern for his own well-being provides welcome light relief, but also has terrible consequences. And Mrs Vesey, Laura’s former nurse, who seems to be a dependent, but could maybe, maybe be a rock when she is needed. And many others, each with something important to offer, bringing light and shade to the story. But I am saying too much.This is a very human story, and that gives it such strength.There is another thing that I must say, that the relationship between Laura and Marion is wonderful, one of the best portrayals of sisterly love that I have read. And that their stories, and the story of the woman in white, say so much about social inequality, the treatment of those who could be labelled as mentally unstable, and the subservient role that wives were expected to play in 19th century Britain. All of which is done, to great effect, without ever compromising the storytelling.I could quite easily go back to the beginning and read this all over again. But I have all of Wilkie Collins’ major works to hand, so I think maybe I should put this one back on the shelf and consider which of his books I should re-read next …
What do You think about The Woman In White (2003)?
This book is an amazing teaching tool. Not because it conveys any great lessons in life or exhibits profound understanding and insight but because it so clearly delineates the beauty and differences in 19th century writing and 21st century writing.The story is definitely very gothic and one of the best mysteries available. It is in the length of the story - most especially the length of the writing that will probably cause many readers to balk. The descriptions, the conversations, the ideas... virtually everything is pondered at length. Reading this in today's society, where TV, the internet, pictures, videos etc. etc. grant us instant understanding and gratification, can be a tedious and boring job. In order to truly appreciate Collins writing, one must put themselves in the shoes of a reader amid 19th century standards. Most people knew little of life outside their small communities. Few traveled or had experience with people and places beyond the immediate. Thus the need for long explanations and descriptions. It was the only door open for a reader to experience life beyond.A perfect example would be the description of Count Fosco, a very large Italian man. His description was so intricate and detailed as to take pages (not paragraphs - pages.) To us, that description might seem never-ending. To one who had probably never seen, let alone known an Italian man - good or bad - it described one so perfectly that the reader (without our modern day photography) could picture him with ease.Therefore, any accurate review of this book must allow for those differences. Readers who enjoy the beauty of the written word just for itself will absolutely revel in this story. Those who are more story driven will need to put on their patience caps to get through it. The story itself is immaculately well-done, it is dark without being terrifying, riveting without being graphic. It is just couched within a style long forgotten and truly appreciated.
—TJ
Lovely analogy, Nandakishore. Wilkie Collins created such wonderful characters in this book. Marian Halcombe is my favorite -- a strong, intelligent, courageous woman with no illusions about herself or others -- but who can fail to appreciate Count Fosco's wit?
—Nandakishore Varma
The story is told throughout the novel by various characters narrative's. They are placed along the story from beginning to the end to pick up the enquiries and story to a conclusion. It is written in a very English correct language and some real tension and atmosphere is created by some narratives. This was originally released in serial form and that shows in the way story is told by the different characters narratives of the general universe around The Woman in White. Maybe weaker as a novel to read in one go cover to cover and was maybe stronger as it was meant to be in snippets. The story dragged in some places and became repetitious I wish I could hear more of the voice of The woman in white herself. If the author maybe lost 200 pages or so it would have been made more readable. For the era that this was written you could say it was a really good work of literary fiction.
—Lou
