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匕丕鬲 丕賱孬賵亘 丕賱兀亘賷囟
'In one moment, every drop of blood in my body was brought to a stop... There, as if it had that moment sprung out of the earth, stood the figure of a solitary Woman, dressed from head to foot in white'
The Woman in White famously opens with Walter Hartright's eerie encounter on a moonlit London road. Engaged as a drawing master to the beautiful Laura Fairlie, Walter becomes embroiled in the sinister intrigues of Sir Percival Glyde and his 'charming' friend Count Fosco, who has a taste for white mice, vanilla bonbons, and poison. Pursuing questions of identity and insanity along the paths and corridors of English country houses and the madhouse, The Woman in White is the first and most influential of the Victorian genre that combined Gothic horror with psychological realism.
Matthew Sweet's introduction explores the phenomenon of Victorian 'sensation' fiction, and discusses Wilkie Collins's biographical and societal influences. Included in this edition are appendices on theatrical adaptations of the novel and its serialisation history.
The Woman in White famously opens with Walter Hartright's eerie encounter on a moonlit London road. Engaged as a drawing master to the beautiful Laura Fairlie, Walter becomes embroiled in the sinister intrigues of Sir Percival Glyde and his 'charming' friend Count Fosco, who has a taste for white mice, vanilla bonbons, and poison. Pursuing questions of identity and insanity along the paths and corridors of English country houses and the madhouse, The Woman in White is the first and most influential of the Victorian genre that combined Gothic horror with psychological realism.
Matthew Sweet's introduction explores the phenomenon of Victorian 'sensation' fiction, and discusses Wilkie Collins's biographical and societal influences. Included in this edition are appendices on theatrical adaptations of the novel and its serialisation history.
239 pages, Unknown Binding
First published November 26, 1859
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13901 people want to read
About the author
Wilkie Collins
2,261听books2,813听followersWilkie Collins was an English novelist and playwright, best known for The Woman in White (1860), an early sensation novel, and The Moonstone (1868), a pioneering work of detective fiction. Born to landscape painter William Collins and Harriet Geddes, he spent part of his childhood in Italy and France, learning both languages. Initially working as a tea merchant, he later studied law, though he never practiced. His literary career began with Antonina (1850), and a meeting with Charles Dickens in 1851 proved pivotal. The two became close friends and collaborators, with Collins contributing to Dickens' journals and co-writing dramatic works.
Collins' success peaked in the 1860s with novels that combined suspense with social critique, including No Name (1862), Armadale (1864), and The Moonstone, which established key elements of the modern detective story. His personal life was unconventional鈥攈e openly opposed marriage and lived with Caroline Graves and her daughter for much of his life, while also maintaining a separate relationship with Martha Rudd, with whom he had three children.
Plagued by gout, Collins became addicted to laudanum, which affected both his health and later works. Despite declining quality in his writing, he remained a respected figure, mentoring younger authors and advocating for writers' rights. He died in 1889 and was buried in Kensal Green Cemetery. His legacy endures through his influential novels, which laid the groundwork for both sensation fiction and detective literature.
Collins' success peaked in the 1860s with novels that combined suspense with social critique, including No Name (1862), Armadale (1864), and The Moonstone, which established key elements of the modern detective story. His personal life was unconventional鈥攈e openly opposed marriage and lived with Caroline Graves and her daughter for much of his life, while also maintaining a separate relationship with Martha Rudd, with whom he had three children.
Plagued by gout, Collins became addicted to laudanum, which affected both his health and later works. Despite declining quality in his writing, he remained a respected figure, mentoring younger authors and advocating for writers' rights. He died in 1889 and was buried in Kensal Green Cemetery. His legacy endures through his influential novels, which laid the groundwork for both sensation fiction and detective literature.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 10,819 reviews
February 21, 2016
DON'T READ THIS BOOK, unless you've got the patience, stamina, and requisite taste for a quintessential mid-Victorian novel. If you don't, you'll think The Woman in White is terribly overwrought and 500 pages too long. If you like Victorian writing, you'll think this is a well-drawn, balanced novel with characters to root for, characters to despise, a twisting plot that rolls up seamlessly, and narrated ingeniously from multiple points of view. If you're unsure whether you like or dislike Victorian writing, this book is an outstanding introductory choice, and it's one that I recommend unreservedly, to you and to my friends. Some facts in its favor: it was considered the first English sensation novel of the psychological mystery genre, has been continuously in print for 150 years, has a 4+ star rating from over 5700 Goodread reviews, and was written by a guy named Wilkie.
The most prominent, intrinsic hurdle of The Woman in White is the writing. If you haven't had exposure to authors such as Charles Dickens, Henry James, Victor Hugo, the Bronte sisters, Oliver Wendell Holmes, then you haven't been tested by fire with the length and circuitousness of Victorian writing. It could take a page or paragraph to describe how a character moved. It's at once beautiful, savory, complete, and exact. However, readers may complain that it's simply unnecessary verbiage. I'll give you an example:
This could be easily rewritten as: I waited, but he passed me without a glance. His action surprised me, so I followed him to discover what his intentions were. If this was, in fact, how it was written, then the story would be 200 pages and selling as a cheap, mass-market paperback best read on a beach vacation. No, we read novels like The Woman in White first and foremost because of the writing--the convoluted but balanced thought, the investigation of intent from multiple sides, the uber-descriptive narrative that doesn't rest. If your thoughts tend to regurgitate and grind on situations that occur to you throughout the day, then you understand and enjoy this type of lilting writing that revisits a topic over and over again.
I find myself rereading with amazement and pleasure the skill of word and sentence placement. I think with a smirk what it'd be like today if we talked like this to each other: "Madame, may I question with all appropriate respect, &c, &c, if this book held betwixt my thumb and finger is, surely, the same novel as that penned by the indefatigable Wilkie Collins, esq., for if it is the veritable same, I intend with diligence, and without delay, at least delay on my part, not counting that which I may encounter on my ambulation home, to read immediately the book for which I inquire now, pray tell? Fantastic--not my writing--but the idea that we English speakers once talked like this, and could again if we read nothing but Victorian novels. I'd like to try a couple months with language like this around and about town today.
My favorite character, by a whimper, was Mr. Fairlie. What a pansy. But, written so humorously, each time he entered a scene my reaction was, "Oh geez, what ailment now." Mr. Hartwright was a sleuthing superstar, and since he predates Sherlock Holmes, I see a lot of similarity between the two, and can't help but wonder if Sir Arthur Conan Doyle based his character on Mr Hartwright. The team of Count Fosco and Percival Glyde were deeply written and their greed, bombast, and evil were delectable to the last. If anyone has read Pillars of the Earth by Ken Follet, tell me if I'm wrong to see a striking similarity between Follet's evil duo and Collins' team of Fosco and Glyde. Follet's portrayal of greed and evil fell flat, whereas Collins left you silently rooting for Fosco's escape. There's a few small problems with The Woman in White, but they're perfectly Victorian, yet personal peeves. For example, can a woman swoon from bad news and take months to recover? Can a person die from a broken heart? Small issues in a such a tightly woven story.
The Woman in White is a great mystery that kept me turning pages. I award 5 stars to less than 10% of the books I read, and Wilkie Collins' met that rarified degree. I liked the good characters, disliked the bad ones, and couldn't predict the ending until I got there; it's as simple as that.
Best lines about women:
1. Women can resist a man's love, a man's fame, a man's personal appearance, and a man's money; but they cannot resist a man's tongue, when he knows how to talk to them. Miriam's diary (p. 258)
2. "Human ingenuity, my friend, has hitherto only discovered two ways in which a man can manage a woman. One way is to knock her down--a method largely adopted by the brutal lower orders of the people, but utterly abhorrent to the refined and educated classes above them. The other way (much longer, much more difficult, but, in the end, not less certain) is never to accept a provocation at a woman's hands. It holds with animals, it holds with children, and it holds with women, who are nothing but children grown up." Evil Fosco (p.327)
3. "Where, in the history of the world, has a man of my order ever been found without a woman in the background, self-immolated on the altar of his life?" Evil Fosco (p. 629)
New words: frouzy, trumpery, glutinous
The most prominent, intrinsic hurdle of The Woman in White is the writing. If you haven't had exposure to authors such as Charles Dickens, Henry James, Victor Hugo, the Bronte sisters, Oliver Wendell Holmes, then you haven't been tested by fire with the length and circuitousness of Victorian writing. It could take a page or paragraph to describe how a character moved. It's at once beautiful, savory, complete, and exact. However, readers may complain that it's simply unnecessary verbiage. I'll give you an example:
I waited where I was, to ascertain whether his object was to come to close quarters and speak, on this occasion. To my surprise, he passed on rapidly, without saying a word, without even looking up in my face as he went by. This was such a complete inversion of the course of proceeding which I had every reason to expect on his part, that my curiosity, or rather my suspicion, was aroused, and I determined, on my side, to keep him cautiously in view, and to discover what the business might be on which he was now employed. (p. 503)
This could be easily rewritten as: I waited, but he passed me without a glance. His action surprised me, so I followed him to discover what his intentions were. If this was, in fact, how it was written, then the story would be 200 pages and selling as a cheap, mass-market paperback best read on a beach vacation. No, we read novels like The Woman in White first and foremost because of the writing--the convoluted but balanced thought, the investigation of intent from multiple sides, the uber-descriptive narrative that doesn't rest. If your thoughts tend to regurgitate and grind on situations that occur to you throughout the day, then you understand and enjoy this type of lilting writing that revisits a topic over and over again.
I find myself rereading with amazement and pleasure the skill of word and sentence placement. I think with a smirk what it'd be like today if we talked like this to each other: "Madame, may I question with all appropriate respect, &c, &c, if this book held betwixt my thumb and finger is, surely, the same novel as that penned by the indefatigable Wilkie Collins, esq., for if it is the veritable same, I intend with diligence, and without delay, at least delay on my part, not counting that which I may encounter on my ambulation home, to read immediately the book for which I inquire now, pray tell? Fantastic--not my writing--but the idea that we English speakers once talked like this, and could again if we read nothing but Victorian novels. I'd like to try a couple months with language like this around and about town today.
My favorite character, by a whimper, was Mr. Fairlie. What a pansy. But, written so humorously, each time he entered a scene my reaction was, "Oh geez, what ailment now." Mr. Hartwright was a sleuthing superstar, and since he predates Sherlock Holmes, I see a lot of similarity between the two, and can't help but wonder if Sir Arthur Conan Doyle based his character on Mr Hartwright. The team of Count Fosco and Percival Glyde were deeply written and their greed, bombast, and evil were delectable to the last. If anyone has read Pillars of the Earth by Ken Follet, tell me if I'm wrong to see a striking similarity between Follet's evil duo and Collins' team of Fosco and Glyde. Follet's portrayal of greed and evil fell flat, whereas Collins left you silently rooting for Fosco's escape. There's a few small problems with The Woman in White, but they're perfectly Victorian, yet personal peeves. For example, can a woman swoon from bad news and take months to recover? Can a person die from a broken heart? Small issues in a such a tightly woven story.
The Woman in White is a great mystery that kept me turning pages. I award 5 stars to less than 10% of the books I read, and Wilkie Collins' met that rarified degree. I liked the good characters, disliked the bad ones, and couldn't predict the ending until I got there; it's as simple as that.
Best lines about women:
1. Women can resist a man's love, a man's fame, a man's personal appearance, and a man's money; but they cannot resist a man's tongue, when he knows how to talk to them. Miriam's diary (p. 258)
2. "Human ingenuity, my friend, has hitherto only discovered two ways in which a man can manage a woman. One way is to knock her down--a method largely adopted by the brutal lower orders of the people, but utterly abhorrent to the refined and educated classes above them. The other way (much longer, much more difficult, but, in the end, not less certain) is never to accept a provocation at a woman's hands. It holds with animals, it holds with children, and it holds with women, who are nothing but children grown up." Evil Fosco (p.327)
3. "Where, in the history of the world, has a man of my order ever been found without a woman in the background, self-immolated on the altar of his life?" Evil Fosco (p. 629)
New words: frouzy, trumpery, glutinous
August 7, 2012
Beware of spoilers!
What I learned from this book (in no particular order) :
1. Italians are excitable, dedicated to the opera, and most likely to be involved with organized crime.
2. Beware of fat, jolly Italian counts with submissive wives and fondness of white mice and canaries.
3. Watch out if your newly wed husband lives in a stately pile with an abandoned wing full of creepy Elizabethan furniture. If the said ancestral house is surrounded by dark ponds and eerie woods, expect the worst.
4. A Baronet is not always noble, and his impressive manor and estate might be mortgaged to the hilt. Instead of being the lady of the house, you might be forced to pay HIS debts. Make sure that the marriage settlement is settled in your favor before marrying.
5. Never marry for convenience or enter into any legal agreement when you are:
a. under age;
b. sentimental and easily persuadable;
c. prone to swooning and fainting.
6. Intelligent, resourceful women are likely to be mannish, and even actually HAVE a mustache, but are strong and have good figures. They can also be relied on to provide intelligent conversation when your beautiful but fragile wives are too busy swooning.
7. Shutting yourself up in a medieval vestry full of combustible materials with a candle for lighting is NOT advisable. Always have your minions do the dirty work.
8. Being 鈥榝eeble in mind鈥� is enough reason to get you committed into an asylum for the mentally ill. So is knowing some secret that you might accidentally blurt out to strangers.
9. You CAN marry someone who is legally dead. Nobody bothered to check the civil registry records in those good old days.
10. A m茅nage a trois is fun, but you have to marry at least ONE of them first to preserve Victorian propriety.
Postscript
Lately, I have received several personal messages that accused me, based on point#1 in my review above, of being prejudiced toward Italians --- something which couldn't be further from the truth. For those who hold such view, I would like to point out that my review is a parody which involves humorous, satiric or ironic imitations of the plot, characters or point of views set forth in the novel.The "This is what I learned" heading is a part of the whole exercise, and does not mean that I personally subscribe to the points enumerated therein. Obviously, I don't believe that "intelligent, resourceful women are likely to be mannish, and even actually HAVE a mustache" (point 6) or that "being 鈥榝eeble in mind鈥� is enough reason to get you committed into an asylum for the mentally ill" (point 8) --- just as I don't believe that "Italians are excitable, dedicated to the opera, and most likely to be involved with organized crime".
I'm aware that my sense of humor is not to everyone's taste, but it has never been my intention to denigrate Italians or any other ethnic groups in this review (or any other review of mine).
March 17, 2020
The only real flaw in this densely plotted page-turner of a novel is that in the end it slightly disappoints because it promises more than it delivers. It makes the reader fall in love with its plain but resourceful heroine Marian Halcombe, and teases us with the delightful prospect that she will become the principal agent bringing the villains to justice. When, in the middle of the novel, Marian tells her half-sister Laura that "our endurance must end, and our resistance begin," it seems like a groundbreaking feminist principle, and a little later Collins gives us the perfect metaphor for liberation when Marian divests herself of much of her cumbersome Victorian clothing so that she may safely climb out on a roof to eavesdrop on her enemies.
But--alas!--she is soaked by the rain, becomes ill, and--after having been removed to the ancient Gothic wing of the estate to recuperate--she returns to the plain woman's typical Victorian role of loyal sister and adoring aunt, allowing the returning hero Walter Hartwright to tie up the loose ends of the plot. Nevertheless, the intricate resolution is absorbing (even if the last hundred pages seem too crowded and rushed) and the ending (although perhaps too pat) is satisfying.
Oh, I almost forgot to mention Count Fosco! He is--particularly in Marian's grudgingly admiring description--one of the most fascinating and dangerous villains of all mystery fiction.
November 30, 2018
鈥淭his is the story of what a Woman's patience can endure, and what a Man's resolution can achieve.鈥�
Walter Hartright, his name is a tip off regarding his character, is walking down the street, his mind absorbed with his own problems, when suddenly:
鈥滻n one moment, every drop of blood in my body was brought to a stop by the touch of a hand laid lightly and suddenly on my shoulder from behind me. I turned on the instant, with my fingers tightening round the handle of my stick. There, in the middle of the broad, bright high-road 鈥� there, as if it had that moment sprung out of the earth or dropped from the heaven 鈥� stood the figure of a solitary woman, dressed from head to foot in white garments, her face bent in grave inquiry on mine, her hand pointing to the dark cloud over London, as I faced her. I was far too seriously startled by the suddenness with which this extraordinary apparition stood before me, in the dead of night and in that lonely place, to ask what she wanted. The strange woman spoke first.
鈥業s that the road to London?鈥欌€�
A damsel in distress is irresistible to most men, but impossible to ignore for men of good character. Hartright is still reeling from her ghostly appearance out of the gloom and dark of night, made more dramatic by her pale apparel. Before he can assemble his thoughts, she is in a carriage being spirited away. Men appear quickly behind her, whom he soon learns are chasing her. Hartright makes every effort to catch up with her to offer her further assistance, but does not find her.
鈥漇he has escaped from my asylum.鈥�
Hartright is left with a mystery, but will soon discover that this mystery will become an obsession as the woman in white proves inexplicably to be tied to the woman he will fall in love with. He takes a job as a drawing master, instructing two half sisters as different as night and day. One is fair, and one is dark. One is pretty, and one is...well...unattractive. The word ugly is actually used, but once I learn of Marian Halcombe鈥檚 character, it is impossible to associate such a hideous word to such a lovely person.
Marian is brave, brilliant, and resourceful. In my opinion, one of the most interesting and fascinating women to appear in a Victorian novel. She becomes the pillar of strength for her sister, as well as for Hartright, as they are inescapably bound together against the machinations of men intent upon their destruction. Marian, we soon learn, can hold her own. 鈥淎ny 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.鈥�
Hartright, of course, falls in love with Laura Fairlie, the fair and beautiful one, an heiress, an orphan, a woman in need of protecting. Unfortunately, fate has conspired against them. She is promised to another one, the odious Sir Percival Glyde. Glyde is in serious financial trouble and needs her fortune to keep his creditors from dismantling his estate brick by brick. His closest friend is an Italian named Count Fosco, who conspires with him in a most insidious plot to take everything from Laura including, quite possibly, her own life.
Count 鈥淣ever Missed a Meal鈥� Fosco
I am a bit disappointed in Hartright. Laura is certainly in need of a white knight, but Marian would have been a woman to build a life with. He does love and respect Marian, but never sees her as a potential mate, even after he discovers that Laura will soon be unattainable. It is only a small disappointment. We all see ourselves from a very young age married to someone beautiful or handsome. Hartright, whose heart is always in the right place, is attracted to Laura鈥檚 beauty, but also to her vulnerability. Marian is neither pretty nor is she helpless.
The twist and turns to the plot are wonderfully revealed. This is considered one of the first detective novels as Hartright does apply investigative methods to his research while attempting to thwart the plans of Glyde and Fosco. Wilkie Collins鈥檚 background in studying the law also becomes readily apparent at different stages of the novel. The writing style is true Victorian style. I must caution you: if you are not a fan of Charles Dickens or Anthony Trollope, you might find this novel difficult.
I read the book mostly late at night with the fireplace crackling and popping next to me. The wind has been blowing steadily the last few days, and as it moved along the gutters and through the bushes outside my window, it created sounds that made me snuggle deeper into my reading chair and feel as much as possible as if I were in England in the 1850s.
Collins does explore the idea of women鈥檚 rights. The law does not protect their rights in near the same fashion that it protects a man鈥檚 rights. A woman truly had to live by her wits to keep from being marginalized by the complete and nearly unassailable power of her husband or her father. Marian was a match for any man, but she needed much more than her intelligence to outflank the injustice and the discrimination under which she was forced to live.
Collins was a bohemian who did not believe in marriage. He had no qualms about living with more than one lover at once. I鈥檓 sure Dickens marvelled at his ability to pull of this feat in such a conservative time period. They were good friends, Dickens and Collins, but there was a break in their friendship towards the end of Dickens鈥� life when he was working on the novel The Mystery of Edwin Drood, 鈥漢is last and unfinished novel, with its running and hostile allusion to Collins鈥� The Moonstone.鈥� I can鈥檛 think that Dickens was jealous. He was the champion among writers at the time. Collins fell out of favor over time while Dickens鈥� books soared. Only recently has Collins started to be regarded as one of the important Victorian writers.
The Dickens Family (and friends) in 1864 - (l-r)Charles Dickens, Jr., Kate Dickens, Charles Dickens, Miss Hogarth, Mary Dickens, Wilkie Collins, Georgina Hogarth
The Woman in White, as promised, does return to the plot, but you鈥檒l have to read the book to discover exactly who she is, why she dresses in white, and what she has to do with the goings on at Limmeridge House? It is a chilling tale that must have elicited more than one gasp from the lips of Victorian women, young and old, as they discovered the truth behind the lies.
I must go now: 鈥淢y hour for tea is half-past five, and my buttered toast waits for nobody.鈥�
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Walter Hartright, his name is a tip off regarding his character, is walking down the street, his mind absorbed with his own problems, when suddenly:
鈥滻n one moment, every drop of blood in my body was brought to a stop by the touch of a hand laid lightly and suddenly on my shoulder from behind me. I turned on the instant, with my fingers tightening round the handle of my stick. There, in the middle of the broad, bright high-road 鈥� there, as if it had that moment sprung out of the earth or dropped from the heaven 鈥� stood the figure of a solitary woman, dressed from head to foot in white garments, her face bent in grave inquiry on mine, her hand pointing to the dark cloud over London, as I faced her. I was far too seriously startled by the suddenness with which this extraordinary apparition stood before me, in the dead of night and in that lonely place, to ask what she wanted. The strange woman spoke first.
鈥業s that the road to London?鈥欌€�
A damsel in distress is irresistible to most men, but impossible to ignore for men of good character. Hartright is still reeling from her ghostly appearance out of the gloom and dark of night, made more dramatic by her pale apparel. Before he can assemble his thoughts, she is in a carriage being spirited away. Men appear quickly behind her, whom he soon learns are chasing her. Hartright makes every effort to catch up with her to offer her further assistance, but does not find her.
鈥漇he has escaped from my asylum.鈥�
Hartright is left with a mystery, but will soon discover that this mystery will become an obsession as the woman in white proves inexplicably to be tied to the woman he will fall in love with. He takes a job as a drawing master, instructing two half sisters as different as night and day. One is fair, and one is dark. One is pretty, and one is...well...unattractive. The word ugly is actually used, but once I learn of Marian Halcombe鈥檚 character, it is impossible to associate such a hideous word to such a lovely person.
Marian is brave, brilliant, and resourceful. In my opinion, one of the most interesting and fascinating women to appear in a Victorian novel. She becomes the pillar of strength for her sister, as well as for Hartright, as they are inescapably bound together against the machinations of men intent upon their destruction. Marian, we soon learn, can hold her own. 鈥淎ny 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.鈥�
Hartright, of course, falls in love with Laura Fairlie, the fair and beautiful one, an heiress, an orphan, a woman in need of protecting. Unfortunately, fate has conspired against them. She is promised to another one, the odious Sir Percival Glyde. Glyde is in serious financial trouble and needs her fortune to keep his creditors from dismantling his estate brick by brick. His closest friend is an Italian named Count Fosco, who conspires with him in a most insidious plot to take everything from Laura including, quite possibly, her own life.
Count 鈥淣ever Missed a Meal鈥� Fosco
I am a bit disappointed in Hartright. Laura is certainly in need of a white knight, but Marian would have been a woman to build a life with. He does love and respect Marian, but never sees her as a potential mate, even after he discovers that Laura will soon be unattainable. It is only a small disappointment. We all see ourselves from a very young age married to someone beautiful or handsome. Hartright, whose heart is always in the right place, is attracted to Laura鈥檚 beauty, but also to her vulnerability. Marian is neither pretty nor is she helpless.
The twist and turns to the plot are wonderfully revealed. This is considered one of the first detective novels as Hartright does apply investigative methods to his research while attempting to thwart the plans of Glyde and Fosco. Wilkie Collins鈥檚 background in studying the law also becomes readily apparent at different stages of the novel. The writing style is true Victorian style. I must caution you: if you are not a fan of Charles Dickens or Anthony Trollope, you might find this novel difficult.
I read the book mostly late at night with the fireplace crackling and popping next to me. The wind has been blowing steadily the last few days, and as it moved along the gutters and through the bushes outside my window, it created sounds that made me snuggle deeper into my reading chair and feel as much as possible as if I were in England in the 1850s.
Collins does explore the idea of women鈥檚 rights. The law does not protect their rights in near the same fashion that it protects a man鈥檚 rights. A woman truly had to live by her wits to keep from being marginalized by the complete and nearly unassailable power of her husband or her father. Marian was a match for any man, but she needed much more than her intelligence to outflank the injustice and the discrimination under which she was forced to live.
Collins was a bohemian who did not believe in marriage. He had no qualms about living with more than one lover at once. I鈥檓 sure Dickens marvelled at his ability to pull of this feat in such a conservative time period. They were good friends, Dickens and Collins, but there was a break in their friendship towards the end of Dickens鈥� life when he was working on the novel The Mystery of Edwin Drood, 鈥漢is last and unfinished novel, with its running and hostile allusion to Collins鈥� The Moonstone.鈥� I can鈥檛 think that Dickens was jealous. He was the champion among writers at the time. Collins fell out of favor over time while Dickens鈥� books soared. Only recently has Collins started to be regarded as one of the important Victorian writers.
The Dickens Family (and friends) in 1864 - (l-r)Charles Dickens, Jr., Kate Dickens, Charles Dickens, Miss Hogarth, Mary Dickens, Wilkie Collins, Georgina Hogarth
The Woman in White, as promised, does return to the plot, but you鈥檒l have to read the book to discover exactly who she is, why she dresses in white, and what she has to do with the goings on at Limmeridge House? It is a chilling tale that must have elicited more than one gasp from the lips of Victorian women, young and old, as they discovered the truth behind the lies.
I must go now: 鈥淢y hour for tea is half-past five, and my buttered toast waits for nobody.鈥�
If you wish to see more of my most recent book and movie reviews, visit
I also have a Facebook blogger page at:
February 5, 2025
The Woman in White is an extraordinary book. It captivated the reading public of the time, and in parts is almost as breathlessly mesmerising and gripping to read now. Wilkie Collins professed the 鈥涣濒诲-蹿补蝉丑颈辞苍别诲鈥� idea, that 鈥渢he primary object of a work of fiction should be to tell a story鈥�, and what a story he has given us here!
Any list of 鈥渢he greatest novels of all time鈥� will probably feature this one. When it was first published, it wowed the reading public, and manufacturers got on the bandwagon, creating 鈥淲oman in White鈥� perfume and 鈥淲oman in White鈥� cloaks and bonnets. There were 鈥淲oman in White鈥� waltzes and quadrilles displayed in music-shops. 鈥淲补濒迟别谤鈥� became a fashionable name for babies, and the names of other characters in the novel became popular too. Cats were named 鈥淔辞蝉肠辞鈥� and instantly looked more sinister in their owners鈥� eyes. The poet Edward FitzGerald even named his boat, 鈥淢arian Halcombe鈥�. It can truly be said that this novel was a sensation.
It is quite apt then, that The Woman in White is generally regarded as the first of the Victorian 鈥渟ensation鈥� novels. Not only did it establish a new genre, arising from melodramatic novels, gothic and romantic novels, and drawing on 鈥減enny dreadfuls鈥� and fictionalised criminal biographies, but it immediately gave rise to many imitators. No longer would gruesome and spectacular crimes only happen in fantastic Medieval castles, but behind the doors of ordinary domestic environments. Virtuous women would still be menaced by dastardly cads, but the element of realism was key. Mrs Henry Wood鈥檚 鈥淓ast Lynne鈥� was published the next year in 1861, and Mary Elizabeth Braddon鈥檚 鈥淟ady Audley鈥檚 Secret鈥�, the year after (1862). And to top all this, The Woman in White is also considered to be among the first mystery novels.
Yet in 1860, at the time of publication, Wilkie Collins was still very much in the shadow of Charles Dickens.
Back in April 1852, the twenty-seven year old Wilkie Collins had already turned his back on convention. His father wanted him to become a clergyman, but after some agonising, Wilkie Collins went a different way, and trained to become a barrister. He completed his legal studies and was called to the bar in 1851, but never formally practised, instead deciding to become a writer. Wilkie Collins then began writing for his friend Charles Dickens鈥檚 weekly magazine, 鈥淗ousehold Words鈥�. Dickens, then forty years of age, was by now a literary phenomenon, with his fingers in lots of pies. Although Dickens himself earned over a thousand pounds per annum from his work on the magazine, Wilkie Collins was initially paid by the column. Four years later, in September 1856, he finally became a staff writer who would be paid the standard rate of five guineas per week. But he was still one of many in Dickens鈥檚 鈥渟table鈥�.
For Victorian readers, to read a novel in serial form was the norm, and quite a few of these serials have since become classic novels. Other major Victorian writers who also had their novels printed in serial form first, in Dickens鈥檚 magazines 鈥淗ousehold Words鈥� and 鈥淎ll the Year Round鈥�, include Elizabeth Gaskell and Anthony Trollope. In fact The Woman in White was the very first novel to be published in Charles Dickens鈥檚 brand new weekly magazine 鈥淎ll the Year Round鈥�, between 1859 and 1860.
That very first weekly issue contained the concluding installment of Dickens鈥檚 鈥淎 Tale of Two Cities鈥� followed immediately by the opening installment of a new novel with no author credited, a sensational 鈥渘ovel-with-a-secret鈥�, which was called The Woman in White. Sales immediately increased! Holding back the author鈥檚 name may seem incredible to us now, but Charles Dickens was very strict that no authors in his magazines were ever named, so that he could keep them as his 鈥渟taff writers鈥�. Incidentally, a later issue during the run of The Woman in White, also has the start of 鈥淔ramley Parsonage鈥� and 鈥淓ast Lynne鈥�. What a treasure trove these Victorian readers had in their magazines!
Yet just two months after serialisation had started, Dickens was calling The Woman in White 鈥渕补蝉迟别谤濒测鈥�, and later, Prince Albert admired it so much that he sent copies of the novel as gifts. Charles Dickens began writing his own sensation novel just months later, called 鈥淕reat Expectations鈥�. Both novels are thrilling even now, with a strong story line, gothic feel and complex plot. Both dealt with secrets, past and present, questions and doubts about identity and social position. Both made use of the ideas of suspect wills, forged documents, inheritances, secret marriages, and illegitimacy; themes very much in flux in the changing society in the Victorian era.
What makes these novels so appealing to us now is that they are both exciting page-turners, with suspenseful mystery at their heart, and twists a-plenty. The Woman in White is a complex tale, with an unusual narrative structure. It is told by several narrators, and different forms, either as reported action, or diaries, or letters. In a way it resembles an epistolary novel, as each narrator has a distinct narrative voice. They form a chain of 鈥渨itness鈥� statements which gradually unravel a cunning conspiracy by Switching between the different and diverse viewpoints, adds interest and depth to the story. We begin to wonder who is to be trusted, and who might be an unreliable narrator. We also see how some characters are vague, or naive, others are driven and passionate, yet others again are vain, or dissembling.
Wilkie Collins is very much in the driving seat throughout this novel, carefully rationing out little pieces of the jigsaw, and disclosing the secret like a series of Russian dolls. He also manipulates our feelings, controlling who we think we trust. The entire novel is deviously plotted. The original structure was geared towards a 鈥渃liffhanger鈥� at the end of each installment, leaving us wanting more. Oddly though, reading in the novel form we now have available, this is not as evident.
Dickens鈥檚 serialised installments could all be chopped up neatly into between three and five chapters, but that was impossible with The Woman in White. The narratives varied in length from one page to, surprisingly, two hundred. Some are divided into parts, and sometimes an installment contained parts of one and part of another. One narrator even returns later. The only choice was to have a completely new structure for the novel itself: in three Epochs rather than Parts, and chapters of similar lengths sweeping across the original divisions completely independently. The chapter names are also slightly different, for instance this magnificent original narrative title:
鈥淭he Narrative of Isidor Ottavio Baldassare Fosco. Count of the Holy Roman Empire. Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the Brazen Crown. Perpetual Archmaster of the Rosicrucian Masons of Mesopotamia. Attached, in Honorary Capacities, to Societies Musical, Societies Medical, Societies Philosophical, and Societies General Benevolent, Throughout Europe & & &鈥�
has, disappointingly in the novel version, been reduced to merely:
鈥淭he Story Continued by Isidor, Ottavio, Baldassare, Fosco鈥�
which hardly conjures up the enormous bombast and swagger of the character, whom I can imagine signing his name and illustrious titles with a satisfyingly sweeping flourish of his quill pen. These details so reminiscent of Dickens are sadly lost in most modern editions. Also, the suspense of the former endings of each installment are also lost, or rather subsumed into part of the action, but the whole flows just as well, and is just as addictive.
Wilkie Collins clearly understood people very well. He has created a wealth of wonderful characters. There is the faithful and angelic Laura Fairlie, the sinister, secretive Percival Glyde; there is her impossible uncle, the effete connoisseur of the Arts, Frederick Fairlee, source of much of the humour in this book, with his monumental selfishness and exaggerated hypochondria. There is of course the wonderful Count Fosco, charismatic and cunning, with his cockatoo, his canary-birds, and his pet white mice, who run over his immense body, partnered by his overly dutiful, malevolently vindictive wife. There is at least one young protagonist for Wilkie Collins鈥檚 readers to identify with in Walter Hartright, a young man with a strong sense of justice. Another is the intelligent, and resourceful Marian Halcombe, one of his most powerful creations.
Some consider that with this mannish, eloquent character, Collins was attempting to create a positive portrayal of a lesbian woman, within the constraints of the time. This is possible, given Collins鈥檚 admiration of women, but it is all down to interpretation and subtext. Collins attacked middle-class hypocrisy, perhaps because he was himself so bohemian. Outwardly, he was a member of the Establishment. He belonged to the 鈥淕arrick Club鈥� and to all outward appearances was a typical Victorian gentleman.
Wilkie Collins lived respectably enough with his mother for many years, whilst setting up his mistress, Caroline Graves, in a house nearby. But in 1858, defying public opinion, and much to Dickens鈥檚 disapproval, Collins began living with Caroline and her daughter Harriet. Charles Dickens too, was very much the family man in public. In fact although he and Collins both professed to be Christians, they had extraordinary lifestyles, and their views of marriage were very different from each other, for such close friends. Although we know of Dickens鈥檚 long-term relationship with Nelly Ternan, as a man of propriety, he had attempted to keep this a closely guarded secret.
Caroline kept a small shop nearby Collins鈥檚 home. She had married young, had a child, and been widowed. Wilkie Collins treated Harriet, whom he called Carrie, as his own daughter, and helped to pay for her education. The two stayed together for most of their lives although he refused to marry her as he disliked the institution of marriage. Extraordinarily for the time, Wilkie Collins also had another mistress, the working-class Martha Rudd, by whom he had three children, in a house just a few streets away.
The second installment of The Woman in White begins very melodramatically, to modern eyes, with a young man, Walter Hartright meeting a strange woman dressed all in white, in the mist. This dramatic meeting was rumoured to be how he first met Caroline Graves, on a night-time walk over Hampstead Heath. In The Woman in White Walter stops, every drop of blood in his body frozen still by 鈥渢he touch of a hand laid lightly and suddenly鈥� upon his shoulder. For us, for the first time, we meet the mysterious Anne Catherick, whom we know as The Woman in White.
But I shall not tell the story here. There are plenty of places where you can read a synopsis, should you want to, but wouldn鈥檛 that spoil all the twists?
After serialisation, The Woman in White was published in novel form in 1860, and also that year produced on stage, where it was a sensation. When serialised works from his magazines were published in novel form, or on stage, Dickens allowed the advertising to specifically name the authors of the novels. The poster, which was designed for booksellers鈥� windows for The Woman in White was a woodcut by Frederick Walker, and at last Wilkie Collins could have his name attributed to the novel.
The public loved The Woman in White, but contemporary critics were generally hostile. Now both critics and readers regard either this, or 鈥淭he Moonstone鈥� as his best novel, and it was certainly his own favourite. But at the time, he was very much viewed as an adjunct to Dickens, the two having collaborated on several articles and stories every year. 1857 had been a particularly fruitful year for the two, with the writing of three major works and the production of the play 鈥淭he Frozen Deep鈥�. Most recently Charles Dickens鈥檚 鈥淭he Haunted House鈥� had included both authors, with Dickens鈥檚 stories framing stories by five others.
Interestingly, Dickens鈥檚 next novel was to be 鈥淕reat Expectations鈥�, the most gothic of all his novels. The two writers were clearly writing very closely together, and producing a very similar feel to their works. In fact reading parts of this, Dickens鈥檚 influence seems very clear at some points, especially in a few of the cameo roles. Wilkie Collins had a wry touch which was all his own, but some humorous passages jump out as being Charles Dickens鈥檚 irrepressible silliness. Also sometimes the sarcasm (for instance of Marian Halcombe) is very reminiscent of Dickens.
In 1862, the split finally came. Wilkie Collins resigned from Dickens鈥檚 staff, and the separation of Dickens鈥檚 and Collins鈥檚 identities as writers became more defined. Wilkie Collins was not to work with Dickens again until the pair collaborated on 鈥淣o Thoroughfare鈥� for the 1867 Christmas edition of the magazine. Immediately after this story came the first installment of 鈥淭he Moonstone鈥� in serial form, the novel that would finally establish Wilkie Collins鈥檚 reputation.
However he was in poor health. He continued to suffer from gout, and it now especially affected his eyes. Within a year, the laudanum he was taking for his continual gout became a serious problem.
Collins said of his early days with Dickens, 鈥淲e saw each other every day, and were as fond of each other as men could be.鈥� Wilkie Collins certainly suffered after the death of Charles Dickens in 1870. Some view Wilkie Collins as a draining influence on Charles Dickens, and it has even been suggested that the strain of mentoring Collins contributed to Dickens鈥檚 death. Perhaps the consequent loss of Dickens as both a friend and a literary mentor, partly caused Collins鈥檚 increased dependence upon laudanum. He certainly never bettered the novels he published in the 1860s.
Wilkie Collins鈥檚 later novels contained more social commentary, and were not as sensational. This one and 鈥淭he Moonstone鈥� represent the best, the most intriguing, and most enduring of his career. With their themes of jealousy, murder and adultery, these thrilling tales are as electrifying, horrific, suspenseful, and intricately plotted as any Victorian classics you are likely to read.
Any list of 鈥渢he greatest novels of all time鈥� will probably feature this one. When it was first published, it wowed the reading public, and manufacturers got on the bandwagon, creating 鈥淲oman in White鈥� perfume and 鈥淲oman in White鈥� cloaks and bonnets. There were 鈥淲oman in White鈥� waltzes and quadrilles displayed in music-shops. 鈥淲补濒迟别谤鈥� became a fashionable name for babies, and the names of other characters in the novel became popular too. Cats were named 鈥淔辞蝉肠辞鈥� and instantly looked more sinister in their owners鈥� eyes. The poet Edward FitzGerald even named his boat, 鈥淢arian Halcombe鈥�. It can truly be said that this novel was a sensation.
It is quite apt then, that The Woman in White is generally regarded as the first of the Victorian 鈥渟ensation鈥� novels. Not only did it establish a new genre, arising from melodramatic novels, gothic and romantic novels, and drawing on 鈥減enny dreadfuls鈥� and fictionalised criminal biographies, but it immediately gave rise to many imitators. No longer would gruesome and spectacular crimes only happen in fantastic Medieval castles, but behind the doors of ordinary domestic environments. Virtuous women would still be menaced by dastardly cads, but the element of realism was key. Mrs Henry Wood鈥檚 鈥淓ast Lynne鈥� was published the next year in 1861, and Mary Elizabeth Braddon鈥檚 鈥淟ady Audley鈥檚 Secret鈥�, the year after (1862). And to top all this, The Woman in White is also considered to be among the first mystery novels.
Yet in 1860, at the time of publication, Wilkie Collins was still very much in the shadow of Charles Dickens.
Back in April 1852, the twenty-seven year old Wilkie Collins had already turned his back on convention. His father wanted him to become a clergyman, but after some agonising, Wilkie Collins went a different way, and trained to become a barrister. He completed his legal studies and was called to the bar in 1851, but never formally practised, instead deciding to become a writer. Wilkie Collins then began writing for his friend Charles Dickens鈥檚 weekly magazine, 鈥淗ousehold Words鈥�. Dickens, then forty years of age, was by now a literary phenomenon, with his fingers in lots of pies. Although Dickens himself earned over a thousand pounds per annum from his work on the magazine, Wilkie Collins was initially paid by the column. Four years later, in September 1856, he finally became a staff writer who would be paid the standard rate of five guineas per week. But he was still one of many in Dickens鈥檚 鈥渟table鈥�.
For Victorian readers, to read a novel in serial form was the norm, and quite a few of these serials have since become classic novels. Other major Victorian writers who also had their novels printed in serial form first, in Dickens鈥檚 magazines 鈥淗ousehold Words鈥� and 鈥淎ll the Year Round鈥�, include Elizabeth Gaskell and Anthony Trollope. In fact The Woman in White was the very first novel to be published in Charles Dickens鈥檚 brand new weekly magazine 鈥淎ll the Year Round鈥�, between 1859 and 1860.
That very first weekly issue contained the concluding installment of Dickens鈥檚 鈥淎 Tale of Two Cities鈥� followed immediately by the opening installment of a new novel with no author credited, a sensational 鈥渘ovel-with-a-secret鈥�, which was called The Woman in White. Sales immediately increased! Holding back the author鈥檚 name may seem incredible to us now, but Charles Dickens was very strict that no authors in his magazines were ever named, so that he could keep them as his 鈥渟taff writers鈥�. Incidentally, a later issue during the run of The Woman in White, also has the start of 鈥淔ramley Parsonage鈥� and 鈥淓ast Lynne鈥�. What a treasure trove these Victorian readers had in their magazines!
Yet just two months after serialisation had started, Dickens was calling The Woman in White 鈥渕补蝉迟别谤濒测鈥�, and later, Prince Albert admired it so much that he sent copies of the novel as gifts. Charles Dickens began writing his own sensation novel just months later, called 鈥淕reat Expectations鈥�. Both novels are thrilling even now, with a strong story line, gothic feel and complex plot. Both dealt with secrets, past and present, questions and doubts about identity and social position. Both made use of the ideas of suspect wills, forged documents, inheritances, secret marriages, and illegitimacy; themes very much in flux in the changing society in the Victorian era.
What makes these novels so appealing to us now is that they are both exciting page-turners, with suspenseful mystery at their heart, and twists a-plenty. The Woman in White is a complex tale, with an unusual narrative structure. It is told by several narrators, and different forms, either as reported action, or diaries, or letters. In a way it resembles an epistolary novel, as each narrator has a distinct narrative voice. They form a chain of 鈥渨itness鈥� statements which gradually unravel a cunning conspiracy by Switching between the different and diverse viewpoints, adds interest and depth to the story. We begin to wonder who is to be trusted, and who might be an unreliable narrator. We also see how some characters are vague, or naive, others are driven and passionate, yet others again are vain, or dissembling.
Wilkie Collins is very much in the driving seat throughout this novel, carefully rationing out little pieces of the jigsaw, and disclosing the secret like a series of Russian dolls. He also manipulates our feelings, controlling who we think we trust. The entire novel is deviously plotted. The original structure was geared towards a 鈥渃liffhanger鈥� at the end of each installment, leaving us wanting more. Oddly though, reading in the novel form we now have available, this is not as evident.
Dickens鈥檚 serialised installments could all be chopped up neatly into between three and five chapters, but that was impossible with The Woman in White. The narratives varied in length from one page to, surprisingly, two hundred. Some are divided into parts, and sometimes an installment contained parts of one and part of another. One narrator even returns later. The only choice was to have a completely new structure for the novel itself: in three Epochs rather than Parts, and chapters of similar lengths sweeping across the original divisions completely independently. The chapter names are also slightly different, for instance this magnificent original narrative title:
鈥淭he Narrative of Isidor Ottavio Baldassare Fosco. Count of the Holy Roman Empire. Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the Brazen Crown. Perpetual Archmaster of the Rosicrucian Masons of Mesopotamia. Attached, in Honorary Capacities, to Societies Musical, Societies Medical, Societies Philosophical, and Societies General Benevolent, Throughout Europe & & &鈥�
has, disappointingly in the novel version, been reduced to merely:
鈥淭he Story Continued by Isidor, Ottavio, Baldassare, Fosco鈥�
which hardly conjures up the enormous bombast and swagger of the character, whom I can imagine signing his name and illustrious titles with a satisfyingly sweeping flourish of his quill pen. These details so reminiscent of Dickens are sadly lost in most modern editions. Also, the suspense of the former endings of each installment are also lost, or rather subsumed into part of the action, but the whole flows just as well, and is just as addictive.
Wilkie Collins clearly understood people very well. He has created a wealth of wonderful characters. There is the faithful and angelic Laura Fairlie, the sinister, secretive Percival Glyde; there is her impossible uncle, the effete connoisseur of the Arts, Frederick Fairlee, source of much of the humour in this book, with his monumental selfishness and exaggerated hypochondria. There is of course the wonderful Count Fosco, charismatic and cunning, with his cockatoo, his canary-birds, and his pet white mice, who run over his immense body, partnered by his overly dutiful, malevolently vindictive wife. There is at least one young protagonist for Wilkie Collins鈥檚 readers to identify with in Walter Hartright, a young man with a strong sense of justice. Another is the intelligent, and resourceful Marian Halcombe, one of his most powerful creations.
Some consider that with this mannish, eloquent character, Collins was attempting to create a positive portrayal of a lesbian woman, within the constraints of the time. This is possible, given Collins鈥檚 admiration of women, but it is all down to interpretation and subtext. Collins attacked middle-class hypocrisy, perhaps because he was himself so bohemian. Outwardly, he was a member of the Establishment. He belonged to the 鈥淕arrick Club鈥� and to all outward appearances was a typical Victorian gentleman.
Wilkie Collins lived respectably enough with his mother for many years, whilst setting up his mistress, Caroline Graves, in a house nearby. But in 1858, defying public opinion, and much to Dickens鈥檚 disapproval, Collins began living with Caroline and her daughter Harriet. Charles Dickens too, was very much the family man in public. In fact although he and Collins both professed to be Christians, they had extraordinary lifestyles, and their views of marriage were very different from each other, for such close friends. Although we know of Dickens鈥檚 long-term relationship with Nelly Ternan, as a man of propriety, he had attempted to keep this a closely guarded secret.
Caroline kept a small shop nearby Collins鈥檚 home. She had married young, had a child, and been widowed. Wilkie Collins treated Harriet, whom he called Carrie, as his own daughter, and helped to pay for her education. The two stayed together for most of their lives although he refused to marry her as he disliked the institution of marriage. Extraordinarily for the time, Wilkie Collins also had another mistress, the working-class Martha Rudd, by whom he had three children, in a house just a few streets away.
The second installment of The Woman in White begins very melodramatically, to modern eyes, with a young man, Walter Hartright meeting a strange woman dressed all in white, in the mist. This dramatic meeting was rumoured to be how he first met Caroline Graves, on a night-time walk over Hampstead Heath. In The Woman in White Walter stops, every drop of blood in his body frozen still by 鈥渢he touch of a hand laid lightly and suddenly鈥� upon his shoulder. For us, for the first time, we meet the mysterious Anne Catherick, whom we know as The Woman in White.
But I shall not tell the story here. There are plenty of places where you can read a synopsis, should you want to, but wouldn鈥檛 that spoil all the twists?
After serialisation, The Woman in White was published in novel form in 1860, and also that year produced on stage, where it was a sensation. When serialised works from his magazines were published in novel form, or on stage, Dickens allowed the advertising to specifically name the authors of the novels. The poster, which was designed for booksellers鈥� windows for The Woman in White was a woodcut by Frederick Walker, and at last Wilkie Collins could have his name attributed to the novel.
The public loved The Woman in White, but contemporary critics were generally hostile. Now both critics and readers regard either this, or 鈥淭he Moonstone鈥� as his best novel, and it was certainly his own favourite. But at the time, he was very much viewed as an adjunct to Dickens, the two having collaborated on several articles and stories every year. 1857 had been a particularly fruitful year for the two, with the writing of three major works and the production of the play 鈥淭he Frozen Deep鈥�. Most recently Charles Dickens鈥檚 鈥淭he Haunted House鈥� had included both authors, with Dickens鈥檚 stories framing stories by five others.
Interestingly, Dickens鈥檚 next novel was to be 鈥淕reat Expectations鈥�, the most gothic of all his novels. The two writers were clearly writing very closely together, and producing a very similar feel to their works. In fact reading parts of this, Dickens鈥檚 influence seems very clear at some points, especially in a few of the cameo roles. Wilkie Collins had a wry touch which was all his own, but some humorous passages jump out as being Charles Dickens鈥檚 irrepressible silliness. Also sometimes the sarcasm (for instance of Marian Halcombe) is very reminiscent of Dickens.
In 1862, the split finally came. Wilkie Collins resigned from Dickens鈥檚 staff, and the separation of Dickens鈥檚 and Collins鈥檚 identities as writers became more defined. Wilkie Collins was not to work with Dickens again until the pair collaborated on 鈥淣o Thoroughfare鈥� for the 1867 Christmas edition of the magazine. Immediately after this story came the first installment of 鈥淭he Moonstone鈥� in serial form, the novel that would finally establish Wilkie Collins鈥檚 reputation.
However he was in poor health. He continued to suffer from gout, and it now especially affected his eyes. Within a year, the laudanum he was taking for his continual gout became a serious problem.
Collins said of his early days with Dickens, 鈥淲e saw each other every day, and were as fond of each other as men could be.鈥� Wilkie Collins certainly suffered after the death of Charles Dickens in 1870. Some view Wilkie Collins as a draining influence on Charles Dickens, and it has even been suggested that the strain of mentoring Collins contributed to Dickens鈥檚 death. Perhaps the consequent loss of Dickens as both a friend and a literary mentor, partly caused Collins鈥檚 increased dependence upon laudanum. He certainly never bettered the novels he published in the 1860s.
Wilkie Collins鈥檚 later novels contained more social commentary, and were not as sensational. This one and 鈥淭he Moonstone鈥� represent the best, the most intriguing, and most enduring of his career. With their themes of jealousy, murder and adultery, these thrilling tales are as electrifying, horrific, suspenseful, and intricately plotted as any Victorian classics you are likely to read.
May 22, 2018
Laura Fairlie鈥檚 journal 鈥� June 6th, 1855
This morning in the garden I sketched a small flower and was overcome with exhaustion. I retired to my room, not before kissing my dearest darling Marian, and lay down upon my sofa for five hours. What a day! In the evening I played upon the piano, a quite difficult piece, which caused me to have to retire early and sleep for eighteen hours, once my maid Fannie undressed me and stroked my eyebrows. Usually Fannie from excess of sentimental attachment will gently rain down white rose petals upon my counterpaine as I fall asleep to infuse my dreams with sweetness. Alas she could not do that this evening as she was required to assist the scullery undermaid in clearing the waterpond of poisonous snails, so I slept but fitfully. Marian joined me as usual.
Laura Fairlie鈥檚 journal 鈥� June 7th.
A man smiled at me and I became very ill.
Marian Halcombe鈥檚 journal 鈥� June 8th.
As is universally understood, women are irrational creatures much given to frivolous whim and it is a situation earnestly to be desired that they be closely commanded by their menfolk, who at all times understand their best interests better than they themselves. I believe Sir Percival is trying to kill me, but that, as I have intimated, is his prerogative. I may mention that Sir Percival is the husband of my half-sister sweet kind innocent trusting pure lovely slenderwaisted Laura.
A man may beat a dog to tame it, and that is only just. Sometimes, I confess, I dare to think that a woman is better than a dog in the eyes of Our Maker.
The scullery undermaid has died from something, I know not what.
Marian Halcombe鈥檚 journal 鈥� June 9th.
It is the only joy left to me that I should be allowed each night to clasp to my bosom this divine creature my half sister Laura and sleep with her in my arms which can and on occasion does produce a cramp in both arms that will not dissipate all the following morning however vigorously I swing my limbs around. But I say a cheap price to pay for such infinitude of bliss. Today her husband shot both of Laura鈥檚 pet dachsunds, claiming an accident whilst cleaning his pistols. I am of a different opinion as I have detected that they were shot five and forty minutes apart. There can surely not have been two identical accidents whilst cleaning pistols on one morning. I simply cannot believe it. I believe Sir Percival wishes to shut us up in an asylum. As we look exactly like two existing patients in a private asylum in north London, this will probably happen on Tuesday of next week.
Marian Halcombe鈥檚 journal 鈥� July 11th
From my leafy vantage point I could see the clearly defined portly form of Count Fosco in the fallacious quivering moonlight. He had crept up to sweet kind innocent trusting pure lovely slenderwaisted Laura鈥檚 bedroom window and was engaged in spying upon her, for obscure motives. There he saw the young tender limbs of my own heavenly Laura clenching to her bedroom door frame as she leaned precariously out of her room in order best to overhear her lawful husband Sir Percival鈥檚 conversation, her husband in name only, who was, at that precise moment, in the very act of eavesdropping on me to discover how much I knew of his plan to kill me by means of an accident whilst cleaning his pistols.
Laura Fairlie鈥檚 journal 鈥� July 12th.
My husband addressed me in these terms :
"Many a fine brown egg must be destroyed to make one omelette!"
"Sir, what omelette is that? Make your meaning plain."
"What omelette, madam? Why, I 鈥� I am the omelette!"
Laura Fairlie鈥檚 journal 鈥� July 17th
Today I died.
This morning in the garden I sketched a small flower and was overcome with exhaustion. I retired to my room, not before kissing my dearest darling Marian, and lay down upon my sofa for five hours. What a day! In the evening I played upon the piano, a quite difficult piece, which caused me to have to retire early and sleep for eighteen hours, once my maid Fannie undressed me and stroked my eyebrows. Usually Fannie from excess of sentimental attachment will gently rain down white rose petals upon my counterpaine as I fall asleep to infuse my dreams with sweetness. Alas she could not do that this evening as she was required to assist the scullery undermaid in clearing the waterpond of poisonous snails, so I slept but fitfully. Marian joined me as usual.
Laura Fairlie鈥檚 journal 鈥� June 7th.
A man smiled at me and I became very ill.
Marian Halcombe鈥檚 journal 鈥� June 8th.
As is universally understood, women are irrational creatures much given to frivolous whim and it is a situation earnestly to be desired that they be closely commanded by their menfolk, who at all times understand their best interests better than they themselves. I believe Sir Percival is trying to kill me, but that, as I have intimated, is his prerogative. I may mention that Sir Percival is the husband of my half-sister sweet kind innocent trusting pure lovely slenderwaisted Laura.
A man may beat a dog to tame it, and that is only just. Sometimes, I confess, I dare to think that a woman is better than a dog in the eyes of Our Maker.
The scullery undermaid has died from something, I know not what.
Marian Halcombe鈥檚 journal 鈥� June 9th.
It is the only joy left to me that I should be allowed each night to clasp to my bosom this divine creature my half sister Laura and sleep with her in my arms which can and on occasion does produce a cramp in both arms that will not dissipate all the following morning however vigorously I swing my limbs around. But I say a cheap price to pay for such infinitude of bliss. Today her husband shot both of Laura鈥檚 pet dachsunds, claiming an accident whilst cleaning his pistols. I am of a different opinion as I have detected that they were shot five and forty minutes apart. There can surely not have been two identical accidents whilst cleaning pistols on one morning. I simply cannot believe it. I believe Sir Percival wishes to shut us up in an asylum. As we look exactly like two existing patients in a private asylum in north London, this will probably happen on Tuesday of next week.
Marian Halcombe鈥檚 journal 鈥� July 11th
From my leafy vantage point I could see the clearly defined portly form of Count Fosco in the fallacious quivering moonlight. He had crept up to sweet kind innocent trusting pure lovely slenderwaisted Laura鈥檚 bedroom window and was engaged in spying upon her, for obscure motives. There he saw the young tender limbs of my own heavenly Laura clenching to her bedroom door frame as she leaned precariously out of her room in order best to overhear her lawful husband Sir Percival鈥檚 conversation, her husband in name only, who was, at that precise moment, in the very act of eavesdropping on me to discover how much I knew of his plan to kill me by means of an accident whilst cleaning his pistols.
Laura Fairlie鈥檚 journal 鈥� July 12th.
My husband addressed me in these terms :
"Many a fine brown egg must be destroyed to make one omelette!"
"Sir, what omelette is that? Make your meaning plain."
"What omelette, madam? Why, I 鈥� I am the omelette!"
Laura Fairlie鈥檚 journal 鈥� July 17th
Today I died.
October 9, 2017
"Why are we to stop her, sir? What has she done?"
"Done! She has escaped from my Asylum. Don't forget: a woman in white. Drive on."
I loved, loved, loved the first bits of the book!
Oh yeah, there will be SPOILERS so stop right there!
.
.
.
I loved Walter! I thought he was going to be in the whole book and that's where I started to get a might irritated. Anyhoo, so Walter gets a job instructing Miss Laura Fairlie and Miss Halcombe. I might mention that his employer, Mr. Fairlie, was a complete twat!
Oh well duh, on the road to his destination, Walter meets the woman in white. She's scared out of her wits but Walter does his best to calm her and they walk together.
We don't see much of the woman in white in the book. She puts in an appearance here and there.
So Walter gets to his place of employment where he is to live and teach the girls and other odd bits. And of course, he falls in love with the delicate Miss Fairlie. BUT. She is to be married to this twat named Sir Percival Glyde. Miss Halcombe tries to get her to end the engagement when they get an ominous letter from the woman in white warning about him. And then their solicitor is unhappy with the arrangement when said hubby to be refuses for Miss Fairlie's (Laura) money to be willed to Marian (Miss Halcombe) and friends. And her twat father doesn't care. I swear I wanted to smack the hell out of people. And alas, she marries the jerk! Are you serious right now? You know he's going to kill you honey if you don't sign it over.
In the meantime, Walter was sent away by Marian which sucked. Laura had fallen in love with him too but went on with the other marriage. She was an idiot too. But I liked how it turned out in the end so there!
So here we go with the ladies at Laura's new home with a couple of other twats hanging around. The count and his wife. They needed a bullet to the head too.
We have a few more scenes with the woman in white, some more people needed smacking, a death, Walter back in the picture to take care of the twats, take care of the ladies, another death and some babies 馃槃
I enjoyed the book even though I thought it could be shorter.
Happy Reading!
Mel 鉂わ笍
October 12, 2019
"I am thinking," he remarked quietly, "whether I shall add to the disorder in this room by scattering your brains about the fireplace."Written in 1859-60 by William "Wilkie" Collins and originally published in serial form in Charles Dickens' magazine (Wilkie and Charles were good friends), The Woman in White is considered one of the earliest examples of detective fiction, though it's really just the better part of the second half of this book that has any real detecting going on. Before that you have to wade through star-crossed love and the heroine acting all self-sacrificing (<---very bad idea, at least in this case). There's quite a bit of Victorian melodrama and some eyebrow-raising coincidences, but also some unforgettable characters and some intense suspense in the second half.
Walter Hartright - note the symbolic name - is a young art teacher. One night he helps a distressed lady dressed in white, who was wandering down the street, find a cab.
After she's gone, a couple of men chasing her tell Walter that she's escaped from an asylum. Oops! But the lady in white will soon affect his life more than he can know...
Walter takes a job for a few months teaching art to a couple of gently bred young ladies, Laura Fairlie and Marian Halcombe. Laura is lovely, quiet and timid (and also, BTW, bears a startling resemblance to the mysterious woman in white); Marian has a singularly unattractive face but a charming, outgoing personality. Guess which one Walter falls for? And Laura loves him too, though they never speak of it, except to Marian.
**some spoilers in the next 3 paragraphs for the first half of the book**
But Laura is an heiress, out of Walter's class, and she's also engaged to a older baronet, as arranged by her family, so she and Walter sadly part ways. He goes on an expedition to South America to let time, distance and adventure heal his wounded heart. She marries her baronet, Sir Percival Glyde, figuring, I guess, that she might as well, and he's always been kind to her.
After the marriage - which quickly goes south since Glyde only married Laura for her money, and has no interest in being nice to her once they're married - strange things start to happen. Glyde wants Laura to sign papers (she still has control of her fortune) but won't show her what she's signing, hiding everything except the line where she's supposed to sign. Even in Victorian times, that's pretty alarming for the lady involved.
Marian, who's living with Laura and Sir Percival, is very concerned for the fragile Laura's wellbeing. And she deeply mistrusts Percival and his other houseguests, the huge, urbane Count Fosco, who acts all affable but has a dangerous glint in his eyes, and his subservient wife, who stands to inherit a chunk of money if Laura dies.
Count Fosco
Things get more complicated from there, but I don't want to spoil it. The actual mystery is a little unlikely but it's an intriguing read. The novel had a few parts that were long-winded and/or sentimental in that distinctively Victorian kind of way, and (also typical of older books) there are a lot of stereotypes. For instance, the women tend to faint or get ill rather than be tough and useful, although Marian is generally an exception to that rule. But the story really sucked me in the further I got into it. Marian and Count Fosco are truly unique and memorable characters. Identity is a recurring theme, for the villains as well as some of the main characters, as are hidden secrets.
I especially liked the quasi-investigative structure of the novel, with narration by multiple characters, each with his or her own distinctive voice and point of view. The kind-hearted, loyal Walter; Marian, writing in her diary; Laura's whiny invalid uncle, who just wants to be left alone and is of no help to Laura in her trials; the prideful Count Fosco, weaving his plans; a couple of servants: all of them get their turn explaining their part of the events in this book. I thought that was really well done. As a lawyer, I found the lawyer's description of marriage settlements particularly interesting, along with the negotiations between him (acting for Laura) and Sir Percival's lawyer. And when he says, and then repeats, "No daughter of mine should have been married to any man alive under such a settlement as I was compelled to make for Laura Fairlie," it was a chilling moment.
Another Uncle Fairlie fail
Wilkie also has a sense of humor, which pops out occasionally. Walter describes Mrs. Vesey, Laura's former governess, so:
Some of us rush through life, and some of us saunter through life. Mrs. Vesey sat through life... A mild, a compliant, an unutterably tranquil and harmless old lady, who never by any chance suggested the idea that she had been actually alive since the hour of her birth. Nature has so much to do in this world, and is engaged in generating such a vast variety of co-existent productions, that she must surely be now and then too flurried and confused to distinguish between the different processes that she is carrying on at the same time. Starting from this point of view, it will always remain my private persuasion that Nature was absorbed in making cabbages when Mrs. Vesey was born, and that the good lady suffered the consequences of a vegetable preoccupation in the mind of the Mother of us all.Buddy read with the Non-crunchy Cool Classics Pantsless group. Most of the group begged off - they seem to have some sort of aversion to 600+ page Victorian mysteries - but Evgeny, Jeff, Stepheny and maybe one or two others made it through the whole thing with me. Yay team!
Period illustrations are from early editions of The Woman in White.
February 28, 2024
Too bloody long and overwritten. It sort of took away the tension and mystery.
I've wanted to read this for a long time, ever since I've ofunds out that Fingersmith by Sarah Waters was inspired by this novel. I can see the resemblance but they are different in many aspects.
The Woman in White is a serialised novel, which means it appeared first in many numbers of a literary magazine. The one owned by Charles Dickens, to be precise. The aim was to fill as many editions as possible so most of these novels tend to be on the longer side. Great Expectations is another example of these books but I loved that one. I lost my patience here, probably because it is written as a series of testimonials from different people. I saw this tactic used in many classics, with more or less successful results. This should have been a good one but I admit I got bored midway through.
Walter Hartright is employed as a drawing master to the beautiful Laura Fairlie. On the road to his employer he meets a mysterious Woman in White. He helps her get a cab and then continues on his way. There he falls in love with Laura, who is promised to Sir Percival Glyde. When Laura and her sister got to live in Glyde's estate, things become very dire and strange for the two women. Wilkie Collins is said to be the first author to combine Gothic horror with psychological realism. I thought the plot to be very well woven, and it would have gotten 5* from me ,were it 150 pages shorter. The way the author wrote a phrase tired me many time, I have to admit. It made me think of those houses that have too many ornaments.
I've wanted to read this for a long time, ever since I've ofunds out that Fingersmith by Sarah Waters was inspired by this novel. I can see the resemblance but they are different in many aspects.
The Woman in White is a serialised novel, which means it appeared first in many numbers of a literary magazine. The one owned by Charles Dickens, to be precise. The aim was to fill as many editions as possible so most of these novels tend to be on the longer side. Great Expectations is another example of these books but I loved that one. I lost my patience here, probably because it is written as a series of testimonials from different people. I saw this tactic used in many classics, with more or less successful results. This should have been a good one but I admit I got bored midway through.
Walter Hartright is employed as a drawing master to the beautiful Laura Fairlie. On the road to his employer he meets a mysterious Woman in White. He helps her get a cab and then continues on his way. There he falls in love with Laura, who is promised to Sir Percival Glyde. When Laura and her sister got to live in Glyde's estate, things become very dire and strange for the two women. Wilkie Collins is said to be the first author to combine Gothic horror with psychological realism. I thought the plot to be very well woven, and it would have gotten 5* from me ,were it 150 pages shorter. The way the author wrote a phrase tired me many time, I have to admit. It made me think of those houses that have too many ornaments.
May 8, 2024
Walter Hartright a struggling drawing teacher, is walking at midnight back to Victorian London after visiting his widowed mother and sister at their cottage, in the suburbs to say goodbye, a quiet trip nobody around, the road empty everything's still, not even the leaves on the trees flicker in the blackness, nothing only his moving steps are heard, thinking about a lucrative job in a faraway county of England, that he reluctantly took ( he has a bad feeling about) because his friend Professor Pesca, a dwarf from Italy arranged it. Shock, something touches him out of the darkness... a ghostly, sick looking woman dressed all in white appears from the shadows, impossible this creature cannot be real... it speaks. A story unfolds, a young woman with a secret put in an insane asylum without being insane , a conspiracy to steal not only wealth but identity. Anne Catherick (The Woman in White) strangely resembles Laura Fairlie, one of two young ladies Mr. Hartright has been hired by her rich, unsocial invalid uncle Fredrick Fairlie, to teach watercolor painting, never mind that she and her half-sister Marian Halcombe have no talent, they need something to pass the time. Laura is very pretty, her sister is very intelligent but plain, but both are devoted to each other, a lonely life at Limmeridge House in Cumberland by the sea. Their uncle rarely sees them, quite fearful of his health a sick hypochondriac, ( kind of funny) not a man of feelings. A sudden love between Walter and Laura, ensues, the teacher and the student but her older wiser sister Marian doesn't approve, Laura is engaged to Sir Percival Glyde, 25 years her senior, a gentleman of seemingly good manners and taste a baronet, who her late father insisted she marry (men could do that then). Mr. Hartright is forced to leave the premises early, later traveling to the jungles of Central America to forget but doesn't, by Marian ( a event that she greatly regrets soon, and Laura more so), his three month employment shortened to two, Mr.Fairlie is not happy, why the puzzled man thinks can't people keep their promises anymore? The extremely obese, brilliant and mysterious Count Fosco, an Italian nobleman he says and good friend of Sir Percival, arrives with his wife Eleanor, she is the icy aunt of Laura and sister of Uncle Frederick, without any family affections. The Count loves animals but isn't fond of people, his pets are his best friends birds and white mice, he plays with, they adore him too. The Woman in White, sends an anonymous letter to the miserable Miss Fairlie, the future bride warning her that Glyde is not a good person. Anne is creeping about in the neighborhood, the Count and the Baronet are nervous , why? But the unhappy wedding day comes between Laura and Percival, that nobody wants but Sir Percival, he has a motive not love but wealth, she has money he has none. Predictably the couple travel across Europe, see many fascinating things on their long honeymoon and hate each other...Back in sweet England at the home of Sir Percival's, Blackwater Park, an appropriate name for the estate, in need of repairs the conspiracy goes forward, Laura and Marian are alone to battle him and the Count and his faithful wife, Eleanor the lurking Anne is still floating about, by the dismal lake nearby, something has to give soon. A wonderful novel from long ago, quite a mystery to be unraveled and one of the first written, still a superb read for fans of the genre, make that great literature.
August 20, 2018
this is a weighty relic of a book. it's pretty enjoyable, just don't expect any surprises, unless you have missed the last 20 years of police procedurals on the television set. i'm sure in its day it was chock full of surprises, but i have to shudder at the contrivance of characters talking aloud to themselves while unknown to them, people hide in cupboards or whatnot, overhearing exactly the information they are most desirous of. it does make me yearn for these times when it seems pulling a con was child's play: no paper trails, no integrity of the postal service... so much trust.. so much weakness... in this society, i would be some kind of pirate queen, stealing identities at will, capturing heiresses, forging signatures.. and i would never, ever, make private, compromising, confessions in my chamber.
May 20, 2018
The Woman in White promises so much and delivers very little.
The first hundred pages of the book are gripping and intense. Wilkie Collins begins with an atmospheric mystery that is exciting and almost haunting. I really wanted to know all the secrets the story had to offer.
So even when the book began to grow a little dull around the middle I carried on reading because I hoped that the dryness would be worth it, my patience was bound to be rewarded. (I was so terribly mistaken.) The big reveal at the end is so ridiculously anti-climactic that I actually laughed. That鈥檚 what I had been waiting for all this time?
For a book like this, one that is driven by the plot rather than the characters, it is such a major downfall. The real problem this story had is its pacing. There is simply too much middle where the story just doesn't go anywhere and the characters fret over the same facts but get no closer to understanding what any of it means. I grew bored of the endless speculation and marriage politics. I wanted something to happen beyond the seemingly endless conversation that held no substance.
And the entire situation was agony. It was just so frustrating! It simply did not need to happen whatsoever and was predictable to a fault. When you get into bed with a nasty person it鈥檚 hardly surprising that your life turns to shit; yet, for the characters it came as a drastic shock. Wake up! Look at the real world! Surely, surely, nobody would be that stupid?
I gave up caring. It was a relief to finish.
The first hundred pages of the book are gripping and intense. Wilkie Collins begins with an atmospheric mystery that is exciting and almost haunting. I really wanted to know all the secrets the story had to offer.
So even when the book began to grow a little dull around the middle I carried on reading because I hoped that the dryness would be worth it, my patience was bound to be rewarded. (I was so terribly mistaken.) The big reveal at the end is so ridiculously anti-climactic that I actually laughed. That鈥檚 what I had been waiting for all this time?
For a book like this, one that is driven by the plot rather than the characters, it is such a major downfall. The real problem this story had is its pacing. There is simply too much middle where the story just doesn't go anywhere and the characters fret over the same facts but get no closer to understanding what any of it means. I grew bored of the endless speculation and marriage politics. I wanted something to happen beyond the seemingly endless conversation that held no substance.
And the entire situation was agony. It was just so frustrating! It simply did not need to happen whatsoever and was predictable to a fault. When you get into bed with a nasty person it鈥檚 hardly surprising that your life turns to shit; yet, for the characters it came as a drastic shock. Wake up! Look at the real world! Surely, surely, nobody would be that stupid?
I gave up caring. It was a relief to finish.
March 11, 2025
This is one of the greatest books I have read in my life. The book is my first Wilkie Collins and I鈥檓 really glad to have finally come across him, for he has won a place as one of my favourite classic authors. Collin鈥檚 writing is admirably rich with poetic phrases and a good flare for vocabulary. Although his prose is a little long winding, he nevertheless has well managed to keep the reader鈥檚 attention on the story by his amazing ability at storytelling. There is also a cinematic quality to his writing. The events such as the first meeting between Walter Hartright and the woman in white, the first instance a vague resemblance between woman in white and Laura Fairlie comes to Walter鈥檚 mind when she walks on the terrace in the illumination of the moon, Marian鈥檚 brave conduct of climbing over the roof to listen to the hideous plan of Count Fosco and Sir Percival Glyde, Laura鈥檚 subsequent abduction and false imprisonment in the Asylum under the false guise of Anne Catherick, the meeting of Laura and Walter over Laura鈥檚 false grave, the fire in the vestry where Sir Percival was trapped and rescue efforts being taken by Walter Hartright, the impatient ride Walter takes to meet Count Fosco, were described in such a manner that it was as if you are seeing them rather than reading of them.
A novelty I experienced while reading this great book was Collin鈥檚 mastery in dominating over your mental faculties. Normally when I read a book, it engages with my own mental interpretations as I read along. But the reading experience of this book was so different. Collins never allowed my own mental interpretations to come into the light. He held them tight to his story and convincingly too, that I was unable to wander on my own.
鈥淭he story here presented will be told in more than one pen, as the story of an offence against the laws is told in Court by more than one witness-with the same object, in both cases, to present the truth always in its most direct and most intelligible aspect鈥�. This phrase from the preamble sets the pace for the story justifying the use of several narrators to tell it 鈥� their reliability varying in degree. This is yet another new experience for me, hearing the story from so many different narrators. And I felt it is a refreshing method to have the story told through different persons, given the length of the book. This served two purposes; one was avoiding the reader from being bored with the story and the other is to avoid it being biased.
There were a hero and a heroine in the characters of Walter Hartright and Marian Halcombe. Their struggle to bring justice to Laura Fairlie, their dear beloved, who was the victim of a most horrendous crime, the courageous and perilous journey both of them, especially Walter takes on, to achieve this end certainly reflects the opening phrase of the preamble when it was said 鈥淭his is the story of what a Woman鈥檚 patience can endure, and what a Man鈥檚 resolution can achieve鈥�. I liked these two characters immensely and was connected with them instantly. I was with them through every step of the way of their difficult and dangerous journey collecting the necessary evidence to bring justice to a wronged woman. I also liked the character of Laura, the young innocent victim, who bore such vile cruelty with a calm resolution of her own. Then there are the villains: Sir Percival Glyde 鈥� an epitome of brutality and Count Fosco 鈥� the most sinister character that I have thus far come across with his cold, calculating, and brilliant brain. All these dark and dear characters contributed to the plot of the story to make it one of the best classic stories I have ever read. The book which is a pioneer in the sensational novel was a great success in its time and I believe still is which in itself accounts for its greatness.
I simply loved the book. Reading it was such a pleasurable experience. 5 full stars and a place among my favourite-classic shelf is what I can offer in return for so satisfying me.
A novelty I experienced while reading this great book was Collin鈥檚 mastery in dominating over your mental faculties. Normally when I read a book, it engages with my own mental interpretations as I read along. But the reading experience of this book was so different. Collins never allowed my own mental interpretations to come into the light. He held them tight to his story and convincingly too, that I was unable to wander on my own.
鈥淭he story here presented will be told in more than one pen, as the story of an offence against the laws is told in Court by more than one witness-with the same object, in both cases, to present the truth always in its most direct and most intelligible aspect鈥�. This phrase from the preamble sets the pace for the story justifying the use of several narrators to tell it 鈥� their reliability varying in degree. This is yet another new experience for me, hearing the story from so many different narrators. And I felt it is a refreshing method to have the story told through different persons, given the length of the book. This served two purposes; one was avoiding the reader from being bored with the story and the other is to avoid it being biased.
There were a hero and a heroine in the characters of Walter Hartright and Marian Halcombe. Their struggle to bring justice to Laura Fairlie, their dear beloved, who was the victim of a most horrendous crime, the courageous and perilous journey both of them, especially Walter takes on, to achieve this end certainly reflects the opening phrase of the preamble when it was said 鈥淭his is the story of what a Woman鈥檚 patience can endure, and what a Man鈥檚 resolution can achieve鈥�. I liked these two characters immensely and was connected with them instantly. I was with them through every step of the way of their difficult and dangerous journey collecting the necessary evidence to bring justice to a wronged woman. I also liked the character of Laura, the young innocent victim, who bore such vile cruelty with a calm resolution of her own. Then there are the villains: Sir Percival Glyde 鈥� an epitome of brutality and Count Fosco 鈥� the most sinister character that I have thus far come across with his cold, calculating, and brilliant brain. All these dark and dear characters contributed to the plot of the story to make it one of the best classic stories I have ever read. The book which is a pioneer in the sensational novel was a great success in its time and I believe still is which in itself accounts for its greatness.
I simply loved the book. Reading it was such a pleasurable experience. 5 full stars and a place among my favourite-classic shelf is what I can offer in return for so satisfying me.
October 22, 2020
This is an obvious precursor to myriad crime dramas & the "sensationalist novel."
I found it long but very rewarding. 600+ pages of different POV's (a novel concept then, but now widely utilized); two concrete settings; only five main characters (perhaps not more than 15 in all)... and it is all choreographed so beautifully. The settings are spooky; the motives of characters, although well known from the very start and from the intense descriptions throughout, still manage to surprise. No matter that The Secret deals with money & family skeletons-in-the-closet... & a bunch of classicist European stuff. All the elements I adore are here. It's Gothic, & the writer is like some British Hawthorne (Well at least I think so: & less like his peer, Charles Dickens*).
No matter that bad guys get what they deserve in the end... they arrive at oh so unconventional ends. Really! And the pacing is exactly what a serial novel of this magnitude would require it to endure. I kept at it... found it invigorating, elegant, and haunting.
*This was published in the middle of the 19th century, and along with one of Dicken's serialized masterpieces, this one also ran! Lucky short-living Londoners.
I found it long but very rewarding. 600+ pages of different POV's (a novel concept then, but now widely utilized); two concrete settings; only five main characters (perhaps not more than 15 in all)... and it is all choreographed so beautifully. The settings are spooky; the motives of characters, although well known from the very start and from the intense descriptions throughout, still manage to surprise. No matter that The Secret deals with money & family skeletons-in-the-closet... & a bunch of classicist European stuff. All the elements I adore are here. It's Gothic, & the writer is like some British Hawthorne (Well at least I think so: & less like his peer, Charles Dickens*).
No matter that bad guys get what they deserve in the end... they arrive at oh so unconventional ends. Really! And the pacing is exactly what a serial novel of this magnitude would require it to endure. I kept at it... found it invigorating, elegant, and haunting.
*This was published in the middle of the 19th century, and along with one of Dicken's serialized masterpieces, this one also ran! Lucky short-living Londoners.
January 31, 2018
to watch a video review of this book on my channel, From Beginning to Bookend.
A mysterious tale spun by a writer with a penchant for drama and a lawyer's practicality. The Woman in White will tickle readers who enjoy books where the truth lies hidden beneath the biases of characters who deliver their version of the story through a first-person narrative.
A mysterious tale spun by a writer with a penchant for drama and a lawyer's practicality. The Woman in White will tickle readers who enjoy books where the truth lies hidden beneath the biases of characters who deliver their version of the story through a first-person narrative.
July 19, 2021
Over 150 years later, The Woman in White still deserves its status as one of the most beloved and influential novels written in English. The combination of Gothic aesthetics, penny dreadful scandal, domestic drama and Victorian true crime makes it a mainstream delight for all readers, then and now. There鈥檚 even classic detective work that would, no doubt, go on to inspire the Sherlock Holmes mysteries.
Collins鈥� mix of motifs were so unique, and inspired so many knock-offs, that eventually literary critics dubbed The Woman in White as the first 'Sensation Novel'. Specifically, this new genre is said to begin in Chapter 3, when a woman clad entirely in white is found wandering metropolitan streets in the pale moonlight. Her inexplicable, ghostly presence, possibly being the escapee of an insane asylum, and mysterious connection to an arranged marriage elsewhere was the cauldron that officially swirled all these ingredients together.
Stylistically, Collins鈥� close friendship with Charles Dickens is observed in his similar fashion of language, with a focus on middle class characters and pacing that reflects serialized publication. In other words, the book is long. Probably longer than it should be, but somehow rarely boring.
Serialized novels, like TV shows, are meant to drag out unanswered questions and keep audiences in suspense to sell more installments every week. In some ways this results in a bloated story, but it also means a number of 鈥渟hocks鈥� every few chapters to generate buzz. Tension is a constant presence, with the assurance of 鈥渟omething bad鈥� about to happen lingering on every page. Cliffhangers are plentiful, yet artfully placed and used to great effect.
The novel would have been read side-by-side with articles involving high-profile legal cases and true crime happening around London, adding an impossible-to-ignore realism to the dramatic fiction. There were a few real life cases in particular which appear to have influenced Collins directly, including the 1856 trial of William Palmer.
Palmer was accused, convicted and ultimately hanged for his particularly heinous crimes of using strychnine to poison a friend, his mother-in-law, his brother, and even his four children. It seemed every day new details about his motivations were revealed. For instance, he received a huge life insurance payment after the death of his 27-year-old wife鈥攚ho supposedly died of cholera鈥攁nd brother, whom Palmer poisoned. He was also proven to have defrauded his mother鈥檚 wealth to pay heavy losses from gambling debts. The murder of his children was suspected merely for the sake of having less mouths to feed.
Dickens described Palmer as "the greatest villain that ever stood in the Old Bailey鈥� and Collins seems to have been equally enthralled by the events of the twist-filled trial. For modern examples we would have to think as big as O.J. Simpson or Jodi Arias, and even those may have paled in comparison. It is estimated that a staggering 30,000 people attended the public hanging of William Palmer on June 14th, 1856. There鈥檚 evidence which suggests Wilkie Collins was one of them.
The Woman in White, with its detail-oriented prose and carefully constructed mystery, gave readers a front row seat to what could be the workings of this type of domestic poisoning which dominated the news. When Count Fosco, the novel鈥檚 central villain, confesses to his exceptional skills in chemistry, Collins did not need to provide further explanation for how chemists could use their talents for evil. William Palmer made Victorian audiences all too aware.
Once The Woman in White started to appear in print, it was clear a phenomenon was brewing. Frequent discussions around the local pubs included bets over what Sir Percival Glyde鈥檚 big 鈥渟ecret鈥� might be. 鈥淲补濒迟别谤鈥� became an increasingly popular baby name, while 鈥淔辞蝉肠辞鈥� was a favorite choice for cats who exhibited sneaky, stalking personalities. Circulation of 鈥楢ll the World Around,鈥� the popular publication which serialized the novel, drastically increased its circulation. Beyond the text itself, The Woman in White inspired spin-off merchandise including its own line of perfume, bonnets and cloaks.
While society has certainly changed since Victorian times, it seems Wilkie Collins鈥� story still hits on all the topics which fascinate us, including what drives people to crime, marriage anxieties, and a desire to put bad guys to justice. I鈥檓 not surprised at all that it continues to find such a vast and eager audience.
Collins鈥� mix of motifs were so unique, and inspired so many knock-offs, that eventually literary critics dubbed The Woman in White as the first 'Sensation Novel'. Specifically, this new genre is said to begin in Chapter 3, when a woman clad entirely in white is found wandering metropolitan streets in the pale moonlight. Her inexplicable, ghostly presence, possibly being the escapee of an insane asylum, and mysterious connection to an arranged marriage elsewhere was the cauldron that officially swirled all these ingredients together.
Stylistically, Collins鈥� close friendship with Charles Dickens is observed in his similar fashion of language, with a focus on middle class characters and pacing that reflects serialized publication. In other words, the book is long. Probably longer than it should be, but somehow rarely boring.
Serialized novels, like TV shows, are meant to drag out unanswered questions and keep audiences in suspense to sell more installments every week. In some ways this results in a bloated story, but it also means a number of 鈥渟hocks鈥� every few chapters to generate buzz. Tension is a constant presence, with the assurance of 鈥渟omething bad鈥� about to happen lingering on every page. Cliffhangers are plentiful, yet artfully placed and used to great effect.
The novel would have been read side-by-side with articles involving high-profile legal cases and true crime happening around London, adding an impossible-to-ignore realism to the dramatic fiction. There were a few real life cases in particular which appear to have influenced Collins directly, including the 1856 trial of William Palmer.
Palmer was accused, convicted and ultimately hanged for his particularly heinous crimes of using strychnine to poison a friend, his mother-in-law, his brother, and even his four children. It seemed every day new details about his motivations were revealed. For instance, he received a huge life insurance payment after the death of his 27-year-old wife鈥攚ho supposedly died of cholera鈥攁nd brother, whom Palmer poisoned. He was also proven to have defrauded his mother鈥檚 wealth to pay heavy losses from gambling debts. The murder of his children was suspected merely for the sake of having less mouths to feed.
Dickens described Palmer as "the greatest villain that ever stood in the Old Bailey鈥� and Collins seems to have been equally enthralled by the events of the twist-filled trial. For modern examples we would have to think as big as O.J. Simpson or Jodi Arias, and even those may have paled in comparison. It is estimated that a staggering 30,000 people attended the public hanging of William Palmer on June 14th, 1856. There鈥檚 evidence which suggests Wilkie Collins was one of them.
The Woman in White, with its detail-oriented prose and carefully constructed mystery, gave readers a front row seat to what could be the workings of this type of domestic poisoning which dominated the news. When Count Fosco, the novel鈥檚 central villain, confesses to his exceptional skills in chemistry, Collins did not need to provide further explanation for how chemists could use their talents for evil. William Palmer made Victorian audiences all too aware.
Once The Woman in White started to appear in print, it was clear a phenomenon was brewing. Frequent discussions around the local pubs included bets over what Sir Percival Glyde鈥檚 big 鈥渟ecret鈥� might be. 鈥淲补濒迟别谤鈥� became an increasingly popular baby name, while 鈥淔辞蝉肠辞鈥� was a favorite choice for cats who exhibited sneaky, stalking personalities. Circulation of 鈥楢ll the World Around,鈥� the popular publication which serialized the novel, drastically increased its circulation. Beyond the text itself, The Woman in White inspired spin-off merchandise including its own line of perfume, bonnets and cloaks.
While society has certainly changed since Victorian times, it seems Wilkie Collins鈥� story still hits on all the topics which fascinate us, including what drives people to crime, marriage anxieties, and a desire to put bad guys to justice. I鈥檓 not surprised at all that it continues to find such a vast and eager audience.
July 16, 2024
This is my second time around with The Woman in White and I think my first impression was basically the same as this one.
The first 1/3 of the book is boring as hell. It's full-up with a lot of Walter pining for Laura, Laura crying into her handkerchief, and Marian pushing everyone into doing the right thing.
It's not only a bunch of class nonsense that separates our lovers, but it's chock full of silliness like people suffering a shock and nearly dying from it, or keeping insane promises to dead parents to their own detriment. <--no parent wants that!
It was overdramatic bullshit and it made it very hard for me to stick with the story.
The middle of the book kind of picks up the pace. You aren鈥檛 biting your nails or anything, but you are fully involved with the drama.
Better. Much better.
The last part of the book makes it all worthwhile. Colins does not skimp on doling out the secrets or wrapping up loose ends. You find out not only whodunnit but why they dunnit.
You also get a fantastic ending for these characters that you鈥檝e been on an emotional roller coaster with for such a long time. Well done, sir.
This was serialized in a newspaper.
Which means two things to me. One, this was a book made for the sweaty peasants, so it has a good chance of being quite a bit more fun than whatever shit was published for the intellectuals of the day.
Two, it's going to read like a television series instead of a movie. In other words, the story is going to be less concise because it was meant to last longer and therefore will ramble a bit to pump up the page count.
Prepare yourself accordingly.
Bottom line for me is that if you can make it through the really dull bits in the beginning, you'll probably really like the way Collins manages to bring everything full circle and wrap it up.
However, even with a well-narrated audiobook, I had to stop after a few hours of this and go listen to a trashy romance novel because I was just drifting off due to boredom. I eventually made myself sort of gut it out, and I'm glad I did, but I can honestly see why several of the people I've talked to never managed to finish this one. I'm giving it 4 stars but that's an overall grade that hinges on the last half being very well done. You really have to knuckle down and get ready to slog through a lot of dull garbage on the front half to get to the payoff.
I know that this one is more well-known, but I actually thought Moonstone was a better overall book.
2009
The first 1/3 of the book is boring as hell. It's full-up with a lot of Walter pining for Laura, Laura crying into her handkerchief, and Marian pushing everyone into doing the right thing.
It's not only a bunch of class nonsense that separates our lovers, but it's chock full of silliness like people suffering a shock and nearly dying from it, or keeping insane promises to dead parents to their own detriment. <--no parent wants that!
It was overdramatic bullshit and it made it very hard for me to stick with the story.
The middle of the book kind of picks up the pace. You aren鈥檛 biting your nails or anything, but you are fully involved with the drama.
Better. Much better.
The last part of the book makes it all worthwhile. Colins does not skimp on doling out the secrets or wrapping up loose ends. You find out not only whodunnit but why they dunnit.
You also get a fantastic ending for these characters that you鈥檝e been on an emotional roller coaster with for such a long time. Well done, sir.
This was serialized in a newspaper.
Which means two things to me. One, this was a book made for the sweaty peasants, so it has a good chance of being quite a bit more fun than whatever shit was published for the intellectuals of the day.
Two, it's going to read like a television series instead of a movie. In other words, the story is going to be less concise because it was meant to last longer and therefore will ramble a bit to pump up the page count.
Prepare yourself accordingly.
Bottom line for me is that if you can make it through the really dull bits in the beginning, you'll probably really like the way Collins manages to bring everything full circle and wrap it up.
However, even with a well-narrated audiobook, I had to stop after a few hours of this and go listen to a trashy romance novel because I was just drifting off due to boredom. I eventually made myself sort of gut it out, and I'm glad I did, but I can honestly see why several of the people I've talked to never managed to finish this one. I'm giving it 4 stars but that's an overall grade that hinges on the last half being very well done. You really have to knuckle down and get ready to slog through a lot of dull garbage on the front half to get to the payoff.
I know that this one is more well-known, but I actually thought Moonstone was a better overall book.
2009
March 13, 2024
3, 5.
Citit pe la 15-16 ani, romanul lui Collins are mari 葯anse s膬 intre 卯n biblioteca afectiv膬 a oric膬rui cititor. Din p膬cate, dac膬-l cite葯ti mai t卯rziu, observi, 卯nainte de orice, c膬 are 620 de pagini. 葮i asta te intimideaz膬...
Observi c膬 Anne Catherick (Femeia 卯n alb) 葯i Laura s卯nt ni葯te fiin葲e mult prea ginga葯e 葯i sensibile (s卯nt surori vitrege 葯i asta ar putea explica inclina葲ia lor nevrotic膬), dar c膬 Marian Halcombe (葯i ea sor膬 vitreg膬 cu Laura) nu prea seam膬n膬 cu ele: nu e 鈥瀞lab膬 la minte鈥� ca Anne 葯i nici hipersensibil膬 葯i anxioas膬 ca Laura. 脦n chip ciudat, aceste eminente virtu葲i s卯nt, cum s膬 zic?, diminuate de chipul ei neatr膬g膬tor:
鈥濶iciodat膬 vechea zical膬 c膬 natura nu poate gre艧i n-a fost mai categoric contrazis膬, niciodat膬 aspectul promi牛膬tor al unei 卯nf膬牛i艧膬ri frumoase n-a fost mai straniu 艧i mai uimitor dezmin牛it... Aceast膬 doamn膬 avea un obraz aproape negricios, iar puful negru de deasupra buzei superioare era aproape o musta牛膬 etc.鈥�.
Mai observi c膬 ogarul Laurei 卯i simte imediat pe b膬rba葲ii dubio葯i 葯i latr膬 la ei (la sir Percival Glyde, 卯n primul r卯nd), dar d膬 din coad膬 葯i se vesele葯te 卯n fa葲a unui b膬rbat onest, moral 葯i muncitor. M膬 refer, fire葯te, la 卯ntreprinz膬torul Walter Hartright, prof de desen 葯i om cu indiscutabile abilit膬葲i de detectiv: m卯nuie葯te cu elegan葲膬 b卯ta 葯i, c卯nd e urm膬rit de r膬uf膬c膬tori, are o vitez膬 de alergare neobi葯nuit膬.
Observi, 卯n plus, c膬 Providen葲a 卯i m卯ng卯ie pe cei buni 葯i-i pedepse葯te exemplar pe cei r膬i. Ea rezolv膬 partea murdar膬 a afacerii: abjectul sir Percival Glyde, baronet (noble葲ea lui e fals膬), moare 卯n incendiul din sacristia bisericii din Welmingham, iar sinistrul conte Fosco, ajuns 卯n Paris, e 卯njunghiat (de un asasin pl膬tit, cu o cicatrice de r膬u augur pe fa葲膬) 葯i aruncat 卯n Sena.
La sf卯r葯it, Walter se c膬s膬tore葯te cu Laura, iar Marian decide s膬 r膬m卯n膬 pe veci cu ei 葯i s膬-葯i educe nepotul / nepo葲ii cu devotamentul cunoscut 葯i apreciat de to葲i. Ea 葯tie din capul locului c膬 nu va avea noroc la b膬rba葲i (of, musta葲a!) 葯i alege s膬-葯i sacrifice energia 葯i spiritul de ini葲iativ膬 卯n serviciul tinerei familii: 鈥濪up膬 tot ce am suferit 卯mpreun膬 to牛i trei - a spus ea -, 卯ntre noi nu mai poate exista desp膬r牛ire, p卯n膬 la desp膬r牛irea din urm膬. Walter, inima 艧i fericirea mea s卯nt al膬turi de Laura 艧i de tine鈥�. Am putea vorbi de un m茅nage 脿 trois...
Oare Wilkie Collins ignora adev膬rul verificat de experien葲膬 c膬 pentru orice femeie exist膬 卯ntotdeauna cel pu葲in un b膬rbat care o a葯teapt膬? Preceptul e valabil, desigur, 葯i 卯n cazul b膬rba葲ilor...
P. S. Necesitatea nu e, vai, 卯ntotdeauna binevoitoare, 卯ntruc卯t Anne Catherick, 卯nsp膬im卯ntat膬 de Fosco, face un atac de cord 卯n momentul cel mai nepotrivit pentru criminal. Ar trebui s膬 moar膬 pe 26 iulie, dar moare - 卯n ciuda contelui - pe 25. Vorba lui Cehov: Blestem!
P. P. S. Ne卯ndoios, personajul cel mai interesant din toat膬 povestea r膬m卯ne Marian Halcombe. A葯adar, are dreptate criticul John Sutherland. Ar merita o soart膬 mai bun膬 :)
Citit pe la 15-16 ani, romanul lui Collins are mari 葯anse s膬 intre 卯n biblioteca afectiv膬 a oric膬rui cititor. Din p膬cate, dac膬-l cite葯ti mai t卯rziu, observi, 卯nainte de orice, c膬 are 620 de pagini. 葮i asta te intimideaz膬...
Observi c膬 Anne Catherick (Femeia 卯n alb) 葯i Laura s卯nt ni葯te fiin葲e mult prea ginga葯e 葯i sensibile (s卯nt surori vitrege 葯i asta ar putea explica inclina葲ia lor nevrotic膬), dar c膬 Marian Halcombe (葯i ea sor膬 vitreg膬 cu Laura) nu prea seam膬n膬 cu ele: nu e 鈥瀞lab膬 la minte鈥� ca Anne 葯i nici hipersensibil膬 葯i anxioas膬 ca Laura. 脦n chip ciudat, aceste eminente virtu葲i s卯nt, cum s膬 zic?, diminuate de chipul ei neatr膬g膬tor:
鈥濶iciodat膬 vechea zical膬 c膬 natura nu poate gre艧i n-a fost mai categoric contrazis膬, niciodat膬 aspectul promi牛膬tor al unei 卯nf膬牛i艧膬ri frumoase n-a fost mai straniu 艧i mai uimitor dezmin牛it... Aceast膬 doamn膬 avea un obraz aproape negricios, iar puful negru de deasupra buzei superioare era aproape o musta牛膬 etc.鈥�.
Mai observi c膬 ogarul Laurei 卯i simte imediat pe b膬rba葲ii dubio葯i 葯i latr膬 la ei (la sir Percival Glyde, 卯n primul r卯nd), dar d膬 din coad膬 葯i se vesele葯te 卯n fa葲a unui b膬rbat onest, moral 葯i muncitor. M膬 refer, fire葯te, la 卯ntreprinz膬torul Walter Hartright, prof de desen 葯i om cu indiscutabile abilit膬葲i de detectiv: m卯nuie葯te cu elegan葲膬 b卯ta 葯i, c卯nd e urm膬rit de r膬uf膬c膬tori, are o vitez膬 de alergare neobi葯nuit膬.
Observi, 卯n plus, c膬 Providen葲a 卯i m卯ng卯ie pe cei buni 葯i-i pedepse葯te exemplar pe cei r膬i. Ea rezolv膬 partea murdar膬 a afacerii: abjectul sir Percival Glyde, baronet (noble葲ea lui e fals膬), moare 卯n incendiul din sacristia bisericii din Welmingham, iar sinistrul conte Fosco, ajuns 卯n Paris, e 卯njunghiat (de un asasin pl膬tit, cu o cicatrice de r膬u augur pe fa葲膬) 葯i aruncat 卯n Sena.
La sf卯r葯it, Walter se c膬s膬tore葯te cu Laura, iar Marian decide s膬 r膬m卯n膬 pe veci cu ei 葯i s膬-葯i educe nepotul / nepo葲ii cu devotamentul cunoscut 葯i apreciat de to葲i. Ea 葯tie din capul locului c膬 nu va avea noroc la b膬rba葲i (of, musta葲a!) 葯i alege s膬-葯i sacrifice energia 葯i spiritul de ini葲iativ膬 卯n serviciul tinerei familii: 鈥濪up膬 tot ce am suferit 卯mpreun膬 to牛i trei - a spus ea -, 卯ntre noi nu mai poate exista desp膬r牛ire, p卯n膬 la desp膬r牛irea din urm膬. Walter, inima 艧i fericirea mea s卯nt al膬turi de Laura 艧i de tine鈥�. Am putea vorbi de un m茅nage 脿 trois...
Oare Wilkie Collins ignora adev膬rul verificat de experien葲膬 c膬 pentru orice femeie exist膬 卯ntotdeauna cel pu葲in un b膬rbat care o a葯teapt膬? Preceptul e valabil, desigur, 葯i 卯n cazul b膬rba葲ilor...
P. S. Necesitatea nu e, vai, 卯ntotdeauna binevoitoare, 卯ntruc卯t Anne Catherick, 卯nsp膬im卯ntat膬 de Fosco, face un atac de cord 卯n momentul cel mai nepotrivit pentru criminal. Ar trebui s膬 moar膬 pe 26 iulie, dar moare - 卯n ciuda contelui - pe 25. Vorba lui Cehov: Blestem!
P. P. S. Ne卯ndoios, personajul cel mai interesant din toat膬 povestea r膬m卯ne Marian Halcombe. A葯adar, are dreptate criticul John Sutherland. Ar merita o soart膬 mai bun膬 :)
May 27, 2025
The Woman in White is primarily about someone who says, "Oooooo, there is a secret." Over and over again. "There is a secret." Oh and did you know there is a secret? After 400 pages, I was thinking, "I really don't care about this secret anymore. Please keep your secret."
Two stars because this book did have some fleeting cool, spooky vibes, but my gosh the pace was glacial.
The Green Light at the End of the Dock (How much I spent):
Softcover Text 鈥� $13.80 from Blackwell's
Audiobook - Audible (this might have been a free one)
Connect With Me!
Two stars because this book did have some fleeting cool, spooky vibes, but my gosh the pace was glacial.
The Green Light at the End of the Dock (How much I spent):
Softcover Text 鈥� $13.80 from Blackwell's
Audiobook - Audible (this might have been a free one)
Connect With Me!
September 30, 2022
Maybe 4.5. It's not a perfect novel but it is a really great read.
April 7, 2018
芦螚 纬蠀谓伪委魏伪 渭蔚 蟿伪 维蟽蟺蟻伪禄 纬蟻维蠁蟿畏魏蔚 蟿慰 1850 魏伪喂 胃蔚蠅蟻蔚委蟿伪喂 蟿慰 蟺蟻蠋蟿慰 尾伪胃喂维 伪喂蟽胃畏渭伪蟿喂魏蠈 位慰纬慰蟿蔚蠂谓喂魏蠈 苇蟻纬慰 渭蠀蟽蟿畏蟻委慰蠀 魏伪喂 伪纬蠅谓委伪蟼.
螘委谓伪喂 苇谓伪蟼 胃畏蟽伪蠀蟻蠈蟼 螔喂魏蟿蠅蟻喂伪谓萎蟼 魏慰蠀位蟿慰蠉蟻伪蟼 渭蔚 维蠄慰纬畏 魏伪喂 蟺蟻蠅蟿蠈蟿蠀蟺畏 蟿蔚蠂谓慰蟿蟻慰蟺委伪 纬蟻伪蠁萎蟼.
螁蟻喂蟽蟿伪 未慰渭畏渭苇谓慰喂 蠂伪蟻伪魏蟿萎蟻蔚蟼, 魏慰喂谓蠅谓喂魏苇蟼 蟽蠀谓胃萎魏蔚蟼 魏伪喂 蟿蟻蠈蟺慰喂 蟽蠀渭蟺蔚蟻喂蠁慰蟻维蟼, 魏蟻蠀渭渭苇谓伪 魏委谓畏蟿蟻伪, 维胃位喂慰喂 萎蟻蠅蔚蟼, 畏锟斤拷喂魏苇蟼, 蔚魏魏蔚谓蟿蟻喂魏苇蟼 魏伪喂 魏伪胃蠈位慰蠀 伪蠁蔚位蔚委蟼 畏蟻蠅委未蔚蟼.
螒蠀蟿维 蔚委谓伪喂 蟿伪 魏蠉蟻喂伪 蟽蠀蟽蟿伪蟿喂魏维 渭蔚 蟿伪 慰蟺慰委伪 慰 蟽蠀纬纬蟻伪蠁苇伪蟼 尉蔚魏喂谓维蔚喂 谓伪 未喂伪渭慰蟻蠁蠋谓蔚喂 蟿畏 未畏渭喂慰蠀蟻纬委伪 蟿慰蠀.
螚 渭蔚纬伪位慰蠁蠀螑伪 魏伪喂 畏 喂魏伪谓蠈蟿畏蟿伪 蟿慰蠀 蟽蠀谓蟿蔚位慰蠉谓 蟽蟿畏谓 蔚魏蟺位畏魏蟿喂魏萎 蔚尉苇位喂尉畏 魏伪喂 蟺位慰魏萎 蟺蟻慰蟽蠋蟺蠅谓 魏伪喂 纬蔚纬慰谓蠈蟿蠅谓 纬喂伪 苇谓伪 伪蟺慰蟿苇位蔚蟽渭伪 蟺慰蠀 伪谓伪蟿蟻苇蟺蔚蟿伪喂 蟽蠀渭蟺蔚蟻伪蟽渭伪蟿喂魏维 蠅蟼 蟿畏谓 蟿蔚位蔚蠀蟿伪委伪 蟽蔚位委未伪.
螖蔚谓 蠂蟻蔚喂维味蔚蟿伪喂 谓伪 蠁伪谓蟿伪蟽蟿蔚委蟼 蟿慰蠀蟼 蠂伪蟻伪魏蟿萎蟻蔚蟼, 蟿畏谓 慰蟺蟿喂魏萎 蟿慰蠀蟼 蟺伪蟻慰蠀蟽委伪, 蟿伪 蔚谓未蠈蟿蔚蟻伪 蟺谓蔚蠀渭伪蟿喂魏维 魏伪喂 蠄蠀蠂喂魏维 蟿慰蠀蟼 蟽蟿慰喂蠂蔚委伪, 慰蠉蟿蔚 魏伪谓 蟿慰蠀蟼 蟿蠈蟺慰蠀蟼, 蟿伪 渭苇蟻畏, 蟿慰蠀蟼 蠂蠋蟻慰蠀蟼 蟺慰蠀 未喂伪未蟻伪渭伪蟿委味慰谓蟿伪喂 蠈位伪.
螚 蟺蔚蟻喂纬蟻伪蠁喂魏萎 蟿慰蠀 蟺苇谓伪 蟽慰蠀 伪蟺慰魏伪位蠉蟺蟿蔚喂 蔚尉伪喂蟻蔚蟿喂魏维 魏伪喂 蟽蔚 蟺蟻伪纬渭伪蟿喂魏蠈 蠂蟻蠈谓慰 蠈,蟿喂 渭蟺慰蟻蔚委蟼 萎 未蔚谓 渭蟺慰蟻蔚委蟼 谓伪 蠁伪谓蟿伪蟽蟿蔚委蟼.
韦慰 蟽蟿蠀位 蟿慰蠀 尉蔚魏维胃伪蟻慰, 蟽伪蠁苇蟼, 蟽蠀谓慰蟺蟿喂魏蠈, 蠂蠅蟻委蟼 蠀蟺蔚蟻尾慰位喂魏苇蟼 魏伪蟿伪纬蟻伪蠁苇蟼, 蔚蠉魏慰位慰 魏伪喂 蟿蟻慰渭蔚蟻维 蔚谓未喂伪蠁苇蟻慰谓.
螤蟻慰蟽蔚位魏蠉蔚喂 蔚胃喂蟽蟿喂魏维 蟿畏谓 伪谓维纬谓蠅蟽畏 魏伪喂 蟿蟻伪尾维蔚喂 蠈位慰 魏伪喂 蟺喂慰 尾伪胃喂维 蟽蔚 伪纬蠅谓委伪 魏伪喂 伪蟺蟻蠈蟽渭蔚谓蔚蟼 伪蟺慰魏伪位蠉蠄蔚喂蟼 伪蟺慰 蟿慰 苇谓伪 魏蔚蠁维位伪喂慰 蟽蟿慰 维位位慰.
螖喂伪蟿畏蟻蠋谓蟿伪蟼 蟺伪蟻维位位畏位伪 蠂伪蟻伪魏蟿萎蟻蔚蟼 魏伪喂 蟺位慰魏萎 蟽蔚 渭喂伪 慰蠀蟽喂伪蟽蟿喂魏萎 蟻慰萎 蠂蠅蟻委蟼 蟽蠉纬蠂蠀蟽畏.
韦伪 尾喂魏蟿蠅蟻喂伪谓维 渭蠀胃喂蟽蟿慰蟻萎渭伪蟿伪 蠁畏渭委味慰谓蟿伪喂 纬喂伪 蟿畏谓 蔚尉苇位喂尉畏 蟿蠅谓 蠂伪蟻伪魏蟿萎蟻蠅谓 蟿慰蠀蟼 魏伪喂 蟿慰 蟽蠀纬魏蔚魏蟻喂渭苇谓慰 未蔚谓 伪蟺慰蟿蔚位蔚委 蔚尉伪委蟻蔚蟽畏, 伪蟺慰蟿蔚位蔚委 渭喂伪 蔚魏蟺位畏魏蟿喂魏萎 蟺慰蟻蔚委伪 未蟻维蟽畏蟼 蠈蟺慰蠀 蟿伪 蠁伪喂谓蠈渭蔚谓伪 蟺维谓蟿伪 伪蟺伪蟿慰蠉谓 魏伪喂 伪谓伪蟿蟻苇蟺慰蠀谓 未蔚未慰渭苇谓伪 蟺慰蠀 委蟽蠅蟼 谓伪 萎蟿伪谓 伪蠀蟿慰谓蠈畏蟿伪.
螤慰位位慰委 伪蠁畏纬畏蟿苇蟼 蟺慰蠀 蟺萎蟻伪谓 渭苇蟻慰蟼 蟽蟿畏谓 喂蟽蟿慰蟻委伪 渭蠀蟽蟿畏蟻委慰蠀 魏伪喂 伪纬维蟺畏蟼 蔚尉喂蟽蟿慰蟻慰蠉谓 慰 魏伪胃苇谓伪蟼 伪蟺慰 蟿畏谓 未喂魏萎 蟿慰蠀 慰蟺蟿喂魏萎 纬蠅谓委伪 蟺蠅蟼 尾委蠅蟽伪谓 蟿喂蟼 魏伪蟿伪蟽蟿维蟽蔚喂蟼 蟽蔚 蟺蟻慰蟽蠅蟺喂魏蠈 魏伪喂 魏慰喂谓蠅谓喂魏蠈 蔚蟺委蟺蔚未慰.
螣喂 伪蠁畏纬萎蟽蔚喂蟼 蟿慰蠀蟼 未蔚谓 蔚委谓伪喂 蟽蔚 蟽蠅蟽蟿萎 蠂蟻慰谓喂魏萎 蟽蔚喂蟻维 蟺维谓蠅 蟽蟿畏谓 蟺蟻伪纬渭伪蟿喂魏萎 喂蟽蟿慰蟻委伪, 渭伪 蔚喂谓伪喂 未喂伪未慰蠂喂魏苇蟼 伪蟺慰 蟺蟻蠈蟽蠅蟺慰 蟽蔚 蟺蟻蠈蟽蠅蟺慰 魏喂 伪蠀蟿蠈 蔚喂谓伪喂 蔚谓伪 伪魏蠈渭畏 蟽蟿慰喂蠂蔚委慰 渭畏 伪谓伪蟻蟻蠅蟿喂魏萎蟼 伪纬蠅谓委伪蟼.
螆蠂慰蠀谓 蟺蔚蟻维蟽蔚喂 168 蠂蟻蠈谓喂伪 伪蟺慰 蟿畏 蟽蟿喂纬渭萎 蟺慰蠀 未畏渭慰蟽喂蔚蠉蟿畏魏蔚 魏喂 蠈渭蠅蟼, 伪蠀蟿蠈 蟿慰 蟿蔚蟻维蟽蟿喂慰 蠂蟻慰谓喂魏蠈 未喂维蟽蟿畏渭伪 未蔚谓 蔚委谓伪喂 蟺慰蠀胃蔚谓维 伪蟺慰蟿蟻蔚蟺蟿喂魏蠈.
螚 尾喂魏蟿蠅蟻喂伪谓萎 蔚蟺慰蠂萎 蔚谓喂蟽蠂蠉蔚喂 蟿慰蠀蟼 蟽蟺慰蠀未伪委慰蠀蟼 蠂伪蟻伪魏蟿萎蟻蔚蟼 慰喂 慰蟺慰委慰喂 渭蔚 蟿畏 蟽蔚喂蟻维 蟿慰蠀蟼 蔚委谓伪喂 蟿蠈蟽慰 蟺蟻伪纬渭伪蟿喂魏慰委 蟺慰蠀 渭蟺伪委谓慰蠀谓 蟽蔚 蟽蠀纬魏蟻喂蟿喂魏维 渭蔚 伪谓胃蟻蠋蟺慰蠀蟼 蟿畏蟼 蟽畏渭蔚蟻喂谓萎蟼 蔚蟺慰蠂萎蟼.
螖蔚谓 胃伪 伪谓伪蠁蔚蟻胃蠋 蟽蟿畏谓 喂蟽蟿慰蟻委伪 蟿慰蠀 尾喂尾位委慰蠀, 伪蠀蟿蠈 蟺蟻苇蟺蔚喂 谓伪 蟿慰 尾喂蠋蟽蔚喂 慰 魏维胃蔚 伪谓伪纬谓蠋蟽蟿畏蟼 蠅蟼 蟺蟻慰蟽蠅蟺喂魏萎 蔚渭蟺蔚喂蟻委伪.
惟蟽蟿蠈蟽慰 伪蟺慰 蟿慰蠀蟼 萎蟻蠅蔚蟼 尉蔚蠂蠋蟻喂蟽伪 魏伪喂 胃伪蠉渭伪蟽伪 蟿畏谓 蟺蟻慰蟽蠅蟺喂魏蠈蟿畏蟿伪 蟿慰蠀 螝蠈渭畏 桅蠈蟽魏慰.
螤蠈蟽慰 喂未喂慰蠁蠀萎蟼 蟺蟻苇蟺蔚喂 谓伪 蔚委蟽伪喂 纬喂伪 谓伪 蠂蟿委蟽蔚喂蟼 苇谓伪谓 蟿苇蟿慰喂慰 蟺蟻蠅蟿伪纬蠅谓喂蟽蟿萎.
螣 桅蠈蟽魏慰 蔚委谓伪喂 苇谓伪蟼 魏伪魏慰蟺慰喂蠈蟼 蟺慰蠀 伪蟺慰蟿蔚位蔚委 渭喂伪 伪蟺慰 蟿喂蟼 蟺喂慰 胃伪蠀渭维蟽喂蔚蟼 位慰纬慰蟿蔚蠂谓喂魏苇蟼 未畏渭喂慰蠀蟻纬委蔚蟼.
螠喂伪 渭维味伪 伪谓蟿喂蠁维蟽蔚蠅谓 慰蠀蟽喂伪蟽蟿喂魏维 魏伪喂 渭蔚蟿伪蠁慰蟻喂魏维.
螆谓伪蟼 维蠄慰纬慰蟼 蟻伪未喂慰蠉蟻纬慰蟼, 伪蟻喂蟽蟿慰魏蟻伪蟿喂魏维 蟿慰蟺慰胃蔚蟿畏渭苇谓慰蟼 蟽蟿畏谓 伪蟽蟿喂魏萎 蟿维尉畏 蟺慰蠀 蟿慰谓 蔚谓喂蟽蠂蠉蔚喂 蟽蔚 魏维胃蔚 蔚蟺喂未委蠅尉畏 蟿慰蠀.
螣 螝蠈渭畏蟼 桅蠈蟽魏慰, 苇谓伪蟼 维谓未蟻伪蟼 渭蔚 伪尉苇蠂伪蟽蟿畏 蠁蠀蟽喂慰纬谓蠅渭委伪, 慰尉蠀渭苇谓畏 伪谓蟿委位畏蠄畏, 蟺谓蔚蠀渭伪蟿蠋未畏蟼, 魏伪蟿伪蟻蟿喂蟽渭苇谓慰蟼, 胃蠉蟿畏蟼 伪谓畏位蔚萎蟼 魏伪喂 胃蠉渭伪 蔚蟻蠅蟿喂魏萎蟼 魏蟻委蟽畏蟼.
螔蟻委蟽魏蔚蟿伪喂 蟺维谓蟿伪 蔚谓伪 尾萎渭伪 渭蟺蟻慰蟽蟿维 伪蟺慰 蟿喂蟼 蔚谓苇蟻纬蔚喂蔚蟼 蟿蠅谓 畏蟻蠋蠅谓 魏伪喂 蠁伪喂谓慰渭蔚谓喂魏维 渭蟺慰蟻蔚委 谓伪 蔚喂谓伪喂 未喂蟽蠀蟺蠈蟽蟿伪蟿慰蟼 蟽蔚 蠄蠀蠂萎 魏伪喂 蟽蠋渭伪.
螘委谓伪喂 慰 魏伪魏蠈蟼 蟺慰蠀 伪纬维蟺畏蟽伪, 慰 伪未蠀蟽蠋蟺畏蟿慰蟼 魏伪喂 蟽魏位畏蟻蠈蟼 蟿蠀蠂慰未喂蠋魏蟿畏蟼 蟺慰蠀 位维蟿蟻蔚蠄伪. 螤蟻伪纬渭伪蟿喂魏维 渭苇蠂蟻喂 蟿慰 蟿苇位慰蟼 未蔚谓 魏伪蟿维蠁蔚蟻伪 谓伪 蟿慰谓 渭喂蟽萎蟽蠅 蠈蟽慰 魏喂 伪谓 蟺蟻慰蟽蟺维胃畏蟽伪.
危蔚 伪谓蟿委胃蔚蟽畏 渭蔚 蟿慰蠀蟼 魏伪位慰蠉蟼 蠂伪蟻伪魏蟿萎蟻蔚蟼 蟺慰蠀 渭蔚 维蠁畏蟽伪谓 蟽蠀谓伪喂蟽胃畏渭伪蟿喂魏维 伪未喂维蠁慰蟻畏.
危蔚 慰位蠈魏位畏蟻慰 蟿慰 尾喂尾位委慰 - 未蔚谓 蟺伪委味蔚喂 魏伪谓蔚谓伪谓 伪蟺慰位蠉蟿蠅蟼 蟻蠈位慰 慰 蠈纬魏慰蟼 蟿蠅谓 蟽蔚位委未蠅谓 - 尉苇蟻慰蠀渭蔚 蟺蠅蟼 蟽蠀渭尾伪委谓蔚喂 魏维蟿喂 蟺慰位蠉 魏伪魏蠈... 渭伪 蟽蔚 伪谓蟿委胃蔚蟽畏 渭蔚 蟿伪 蟺伪蟻伪未慰蟽喂伪魏维 渭蠀蟽蟿萎蟻喂伪 蟿蠅谓 尾喂尾位委蠅谓 蟺慰蠀 伪谓伪味畏蟿维渭蔚 蟿慰谓 苇谓慰蠂慰, 蔚未蠋 苇蠅蟼 蟿慰 蟿苇位慰蟼 蠄维蠂谓慰蠀渭蔚 蠈蠂喂 渭蠈谓慰 蟿慰 蟺慰喂慰蟼 蟿慰 苇魏伪谓蔚, 渭伪 魏伪喂 蟿慰 芦蟿喂 苇魏伪谓蔚禄.
螆谓伪 未喂伪尾慰位喂魏蠈 蟺伪蟻伪渭蠉胃喂 渭蔚 蟿蟻伪纬喂魏苇蟼 蔚尉蔚位委尉蔚喂蟼 蟺慰蠀 伪魏慰蠉纬蔚蟿伪喂 伪蟺慰 未喂维蠁慰蟻蔚蟼 魏伪喂 未喂伪蠁慰蟻蔚蟿喂魏苇蟼 蠁蠅谓苇蟼.
螠喂伪 魏位伪蟽喂魏萎 伪谓伪纬谓蠅蟽蟿喂魏萎 蔚渭蟺蔚喂蟻委伪, 渭喂伪 渭伪蟻蟿蠀蟻委伪 蠂蟿喂蟽渭苇谓畏 渭蔚 伪纬维蟺畏, 蠁喂位委伪, 魏伪位苇蟼 魏伪喂 魏伪魏苇蟼 慰喂魏慰纬蔚谓蔚喂伪魏苇蟼 蟽蠂苇蟽蔚喂蟼, 蟿蟻蠈渭慰, 渭蠀蟽蟿萎蟻喂慰, 蟺蟻慰未慰蟽委伪, 蠄蠀蠂慰位慰纬喂魏维 蟺伪喂蠂谓委未喂伪, 蟺委蟽蟿畏, 蟽蠀渭蟺蠈谓慰喂伪 魏伪喂 苇谓蟿慰谓畏 纬慰蟿胃喂魏萎 伪委蟽胃畏蟽畏. 螒蟺蠈位蠀蟿伪 喂蟽慰蟻蟻慰蟺畏渭苇谓伪 魏伪喂 蔚谓伪位位伪蟽蟽蠈渭蔚谓伪 蠋蟽蟿蔚 谓伪 渭畏 蠁胃蔚委蟻慰谓蟿伪喂 渭苇蠂蟻喂 蟿苇位慰蠀蟼.
韦慰 伪蟺蠈位伪蠀蟽伪, 蟿慰 胃伪蠉渭伪蟽伪. 螠蔚 伪谓蟿维渭蔚喂蠄蔚, 蠂伪蟻委味慰谓蟿伪蟼 渭慰蠀 蟺慰位位维 蟺蔚蟻喂蟽蟽蠈蟿蔚蟻伪 伪蟺慰 蠈,蟿喂 渭蟺慰蟻蔚委 谓伪 蠀蟺慰蟽蠂蔚胃蔚委 苇谓伪 渭蠀胃喂蟽蟿慰蟻畏渭伪.
围蟻蠈谓喂伪 螤慰位位维!!!
螝伪位萎 伪谓维纬谓蠅蟽畏.
螤慰位位慰蠉蟼 伪蟽蟺伪蟽渭慰蠉蟼.
螘委谓伪喂 苇谓伪蟼 胃畏蟽伪蠀蟻蠈蟼 螔喂魏蟿蠅蟻喂伪谓萎蟼 魏慰蠀位蟿慰蠉蟻伪蟼 渭蔚 维蠄慰纬畏 魏伪喂 蟺蟻蠅蟿蠈蟿蠀蟺畏 蟿蔚蠂谓慰蟿蟻慰蟺委伪 纬蟻伪蠁萎蟼.
螁蟻喂蟽蟿伪 未慰渭畏渭苇谓慰喂 蠂伪蟻伪魏蟿萎蟻蔚蟼, 魏慰喂谓蠅谓喂魏苇蟼 蟽蠀谓胃萎魏蔚蟼 魏伪喂 蟿蟻蠈蟺慰喂 蟽蠀渭蟺蔚蟻喂蠁慰蟻维蟼, 魏蟻蠀渭渭苇谓伪 魏委谓畏蟿蟻伪, 维胃位喂慰喂 萎蟻蠅蔚蟼, 畏锟斤拷喂魏苇蟼, 蔚魏魏蔚谓蟿蟻喂魏苇蟼 魏伪喂 魏伪胃蠈位慰蠀 伪蠁蔚位蔚委蟼 畏蟻蠅委未蔚蟼.
螒蠀蟿维 蔚委谓伪喂 蟿伪 魏蠉蟻喂伪 蟽蠀蟽蟿伪蟿喂魏维 渭蔚 蟿伪 慰蟺慰委伪 慰 蟽蠀纬纬蟻伪蠁苇伪蟼 尉蔚魏喂谓维蔚喂 谓伪 未喂伪渭慰蟻蠁蠋谓蔚喂 蟿畏 未畏渭喂慰蠀蟻纬委伪 蟿慰蠀.
螚 渭蔚纬伪位慰蠁蠀螑伪 魏伪喂 畏 喂魏伪谓蠈蟿畏蟿伪 蟿慰蠀 蟽蠀谓蟿蔚位慰蠉谓 蟽蟿畏谓 蔚魏蟺位畏魏蟿喂魏萎 蔚尉苇位喂尉畏 魏伪喂 蟺位慰魏萎 蟺蟻慰蟽蠋蟺蠅谓 魏伪喂 纬蔚纬慰谓蠈蟿蠅谓 纬喂伪 苇谓伪 伪蟺慰蟿苇位蔚蟽渭伪 蟺慰蠀 伪谓伪蟿蟻苇蟺蔚蟿伪喂 蟽蠀渭蟺蔚蟻伪蟽渭伪蟿喂魏维 蠅蟼 蟿畏谓 蟿蔚位蔚蠀蟿伪委伪 蟽蔚位委未伪.
螖蔚谓 蠂蟻蔚喂维味蔚蟿伪喂 谓伪 蠁伪谓蟿伪蟽蟿蔚委蟼 蟿慰蠀蟼 蠂伪蟻伪魏蟿萎蟻蔚蟼, 蟿畏谓 慰蟺蟿喂魏萎 蟿慰蠀蟼 蟺伪蟻慰蠀蟽委伪, 蟿伪 蔚谓未蠈蟿蔚蟻伪 蟺谓蔚蠀渭伪蟿喂魏维 魏伪喂 蠄蠀蠂喂魏维 蟿慰蠀蟼 蟽蟿慰喂蠂蔚委伪, 慰蠉蟿蔚 魏伪谓 蟿慰蠀蟼 蟿蠈蟺慰蠀蟼, 蟿伪 渭苇蟻畏, 蟿慰蠀蟼 蠂蠋蟻慰蠀蟼 蟺慰蠀 未喂伪未蟻伪渭伪蟿委味慰谓蟿伪喂 蠈位伪.
螚 蟺蔚蟻喂纬蟻伪蠁喂魏萎 蟿慰蠀 蟺苇谓伪 蟽慰蠀 伪蟺慰魏伪位蠉蟺蟿蔚喂 蔚尉伪喂蟻蔚蟿喂魏维 魏伪喂 蟽蔚 蟺蟻伪纬渭伪蟿喂魏蠈 蠂蟻蠈谓慰 蠈,蟿喂 渭蟺慰蟻蔚委蟼 萎 未蔚谓 渭蟺慰蟻蔚委蟼 谓伪 蠁伪谓蟿伪蟽蟿蔚委蟼.
韦慰 蟽蟿蠀位 蟿慰蠀 尉蔚魏维胃伪蟻慰, 蟽伪蠁苇蟼, 蟽蠀谓慰蟺蟿喂魏蠈, 蠂蠅蟻委蟼 蠀蟺蔚蟻尾慰位喂魏苇蟼 魏伪蟿伪纬蟻伪蠁苇蟼, 蔚蠉魏慰位慰 魏伪喂 蟿蟻慰渭蔚蟻维 蔚谓未喂伪蠁苇蟻慰谓.
螤蟻慰蟽蔚位魏蠉蔚喂 蔚胃喂蟽蟿喂魏维 蟿畏谓 伪谓维纬谓蠅蟽畏 魏伪喂 蟿蟻伪尾维蔚喂 蠈位慰 魏伪喂 蟺喂慰 尾伪胃喂维 蟽蔚 伪纬蠅谓委伪 魏伪喂 伪蟺蟻蠈蟽渭蔚谓蔚蟼 伪蟺慰魏伪位蠉蠄蔚喂蟼 伪蟺慰 蟿慰 苇谓伪 魏蔚蠁维位伪喂慰 蟽蟿慰 维位位慰.
螖喂伪蟿畏蟻蠋谓蟿伪蟼 蟺伪蟻维位位畏位伪 蠂伪蟻伪魏蟿萎蟻蔚蟼 魏伪喂 蟺位慰魏萎 蟽蔚 渭喂伪 慰蠀蟽喂伪蟽蟿喂魏萎 蟻慰萎 蠂蠅蟻委蟼 蟽蠉纬蠂蠀蟽畏.
韦伪 尾喂魏蟿蠅蟻喂伪谓维 渭蠀胃喂蟽蟿慰蟻萎渭伪蟿伪 蠁畏渭委味慰谓蟿伪喂 纬喂伪 蟿畏谓 蔚尉苇位喂尉畏 蟿蠅谓 蠂伪蟻伪魏蟿萎蟻蠅谓 蟿慰蠀蟼 魏伪喂 蟿慰 蟽蠀纬魏蔚魏蟻喂渭苇谓慰 未蔚谓 伪蟺慰蟿蔚位蔚委 蔚尉伪委蟻蔚蟽畏, 伪蟺慰蟿蔚位蔚委 渭喂伪 蔚魏蟺位畏魏蟿喂魏萎 蟺慰蟻蔚委伪 未蟻维蟽畏蟼 蠈蟺慰蠀 蟿伪 蠁伪喂谓蠈渭蔚谓伪 蟺维谓蟿伪 伪蟺伪蟿慰蠉谓 魏伪喂 伪谓伪蟿蟻苇蟺慰蠀谓 未蔚未慰渭苇谓伪 蟺慰蠀 委蟽蠅蟼 谓伪 萎蟿伪谓 伪蠀蟿慰谓蠈畏蟿伪.
螤慰位位慰委 伪蠁畏纬畏蟿苇蟼 蟺慰蠀 蟺萎蟻伪谓 渭苇蟻慰蟼 蟽蟿畏谓 喂蟽蟿慰蟻委伪 渭蠀蟽蟿畏蟻委慰蠀 魏伪喂 伪纬维蟺畏蟼 蔚尉喂蟽蟿慰蟻慰蠉谓 慰 魏伪胃苇谓伪蟼 伪蟺慰 蟿畏谓 未喂魏萎 蟿慰蠀 慰蟺蟿喂魏萎 纬蠅谓委伪 蟺蠅蟼 尾委蠅蟽伪谓 蟿喂蟼 魏伪蟿伪蟽蟿维蟽蔚喂蟼 蟽蔚 蟺蟻慰蟽蠅蟺喂魏蠈 魏伪喂 魏慰喂谓蠅谓喂魏蠈 蔚蟺委蟺蔚未慰.
螣喂 伪蠁畏纬萎蟽蔚喂蟼 蟿慰蠀蟼 未蔚谓 蔚委谓伪喂 蟽蔚 蟽蠅蟽蟿萎 蠂蟻慰谓喂魏萎 蟽蔚喂蟻维 蟺维谓蠅 蟽蟿畏谓 蟺蟻伪纬渭伪蟿喂魏萎 喂蟽蟿慰蟻委伪, 渭伪 蔚喂谓伪喂 未喂伪未慰蠂喂魏苇蟼 伪蟺慰 蟺蟻蠈蟽蠅蟺慰 蟽蔚 蟺蟻蠈蟽蠅蟺慰 魏喂 伪蠀蟿蠈 蔚喂谓伪喂 蔚谓伪 伪魏蠈渭畏 蟽蟿慰喂蠂蔚委慰 渭畏 伪谓伪蟻蟻蠅蟿喂魏萎蟼 伪纬蠅谓委伪蟼.
螆蠂慰蠀谓 蟺蔚蟻维蟽蔚喂 168 蠂蟻蠈谓喂伪 伪蟺慰 蟿畏 蟽蟿喂纬渭萎 蟺慰蠀 未畏渭慰蟽喂蔚蠉蟿畏魏蔚 魏喂 蠈渭蠅蟼, 伪蠀蟿蠈 蟿慰 蟿蔚蟻维蟽蟿喂慰 蠂蟻慰谓喂魏蠈 未喂维蟽蟿畏渭伪 未蔚谓 蔚委谓伪喂 蟺慰蠀胃蔚谓维 伪蟺慰蟿蟻蔚蟺蟿喂魏蠈.
螚 尾喂魏蟿蠅蟻喂伪谓萎 蔚蟺慰蠂萎 蔚谓喂蟽蠂蠉蔚喂 蟿慰蠀蟼 蟽蟺慰蠀未伪委慰蠀蟼 蠂伪蟻伪魏蟿萎蟻蔚蟼 慰喂 慰蟺慰委慰喂 渭蔚 蟿畏 蟽蔚喂蟻维 蟿慰蠀蟼 蔚委谓伪喂 蟿蠈蟽慰 蟺蟻伪纬渭伪蟿喂魏慰委 蟺慰蠀 渭蟺伪委谓慰蠀谓 蟽蔚 蟽蠀纬魏蟻喂蟿喂魏维 渭蔚 伪谓胃蟻蠋蟺慰蠀蟼 蟿畏蟼 蟽畏渭蔚蟻喂谓萎蟼 蔚蟺慰蠂萎蟼.
螖蔚谓 胃伪 伪谓伪蠁蔚蟻胃蠋 蟽蟿畏谓 喂蟽蟿慰蟻委伪 蟿慰蠀 尾喂尾位委慰蠀, 伪蠀蟿蠈 蟺蟻苇蟺蔚喂 谓伪 蟿慰 尾喂蠋蟽蔚喂 慰 魏维胃蔚 伪谓伪纬谓蠋蟽蟿畏蟼 蠅蟼 蟺蟻慰蟽蠅蟺喂魏萎 蔚渭蟺蔚喂蟻委伪.
惟蟽蟿蠈蟽慰 伪蟺慰 蟿慰蠀蟼 萎蟻蠅蔚蟼 尉蔚蠂蠋蟻喂蟽伪 魏伪喂 胃伪蠉渭伪蟽伪 蟿畏谓 蟺蟻慰蟽蠅蟺喂魏蠈蟿畏蟿伪 蟿慰蠀 螝蠈渭畏 桅蠈蟽魏慰.
螤蠈蟽慰 喂未喂慰蠁蠀萎蟼 蟺蟻苇蟺蔚喂 谓伪 蔚委蟽伪喂 纬喂伪 谓伪 蠂蟿委蟽蔚喂蟼 苇谓伪谓 蟿苇蟿慰喂慰 蟺蟻蠅蟿伪纬蠅谓喂蟽蟿萎.
螣 桅蠈蟽魏慰 蔚委谓伪喂 苇谓伪蟼 魏伪魏慰蟺慰喂蠈蟼 蟺慰蠀 伪蟺慰蟿蔚位蔚委 渭喂伪 伪蟺慰 蟿喂蟼 蟺喂慰 胃伪蠀渭维蟽喂蔚蟼 位慰纬慰蟿蔚蠂谓喂魏苇蟼 未畏渭喂慰蠀蟻纬委蔚蟼.
螠喂伪 渭维味伪 伪谓蟿喂蠁维蟽蔚蠅谓 慰蠀蟽喂伪蟽蟿喂魏维 魏伪喂 渭蔚蟿伪蠁慰蟻喂魏维.
螆谓伪蟼 维蠄慰纬慰蟼 蟻伪未喂慰蠉蟻纬慰蟼, 伪蟻喂蟽蟿慰魏蟻伪蟿喂魏维 蟿慰蟺慰胃蔚蟿畏渭苇谓慰蟼 蟽蟿畏谓 伪蟽蟿喂魏萎 蟿维尉畏 蟺慰蠀 蟿慰谓 蔚谓喂蟽蠂蠉蔚喂 蟽蔚 魏维胃蔚 蔚蟺喂未委蠅尉畏 蟿慰蠀.
螣 螝蠈渭畏蟼 桅蠈蟽魏慰, 苇谓伪蟼 维谓未蟻伪蟼 渭蔚 伪尉苇蠂伪蟽蟿畏 蠁蠀蟽喂慰纬谓蠅渭委伪, 慰尉蠀渭苇谓畏 伪谓蟿委位畏蠄畏, 蟺谓蔚蠀渭伪蟿蠋未畏蟼, 魏伪蟿伪蟻蟿喂蟽渭苇谓慰蟼, 胃蠉蟿畏蟼 伪谓畏位蔚萎蟼 魏伪喂 胃蠉渭伪 蔚蟻蠅蟿喂魏萎蟼 魏蟻委蟽畏蟼.
螔蟻委蟽魏蔚蟿伪喂 蟺维谓蟿伪 蔚谓伪 尾萎渭伪 渭蟺蟻慰蟽蟿维 伪蟺慰 蟿喂蟼 蔚谓苇蟻纬蔚喂蔚蟼 蟿蠅谓 畏蟻蠋蠅谓 魏伪喂 蠁伪喂谓慰渭蔚谓喂魏维 渭蟺慰蟻蔚委 谓伪 蔚喂谓伪喂 未喂蟽蠀蟺蠈蟽蟿伪蟿慰蟼 蟽蔚 蠄蠀蠂萎 魏伪喂 蟽蠋渭伪.
螘委谓伪喂 慰 魏伪魏蠈蟼 蟺慰蠀 伪纬维蟺畏蟽伪, 慰 伪未蠀蟽蠋蟺畏蟿慰蟼 魏伪喂 蟽魏位畏蟻蠈蟼 蟿蠀蠂慰未喂蠋魏蟿畏蟼 蟺慰蠀 位维蟿蟻蔚蠄伪. 螤蟻伪纬渭伪蟿喂魏维 渭苇蠂蟻喂 蟿慰 蟿苇位慰蟼 未蔚谓 魏伪蟿维蠁蔚蟻伪 谓伪 蟿慰谓 渭喂蟽萎蟽蠅 蠈蟽慰 魏喂 伪谓 蟺蟻慰蟽蟺维胃畏蟽伪.
危蔚 伪谓蟿委胃蔚蟽畏 渭蔚 蟿慰蠀蟼 魏伪位慰蠉蟼 蠂伪蟻伪魏蟿萎蟻蔚蟼 蟺慰蠀 渭蔚 维蠁畏蟽伪谓 蟽蠀谓伪喂蟽胃畏渭伪蟿喂魏维 伪未喂维蠁慰蟻畏.
危蔚 慰位蠈魏位畏蟻慰 蟿慰 尾喂尾位委慰 - 未蔚谓 蟺伪委味蔚喂 魏伪谓蔚谓伪谓 伪蟺慰位蠉蟿蠅蟼 蟻蠈位慰 慰 蠈纬魏慰蟼 蟿蠅谓 蟽蔚位委未蠅谓 - 尉苇蟻慰蠀渭蔚 蟺蠅蟼 蟽蠀渭尾伪委谓蔚喂 魏维蟿喂 蟺慰位蠉 魏伪魏蠈... 渭伪 蟽蔚 伪谓蟿委胃蔚蟽畏 渭蔚 蟿伪 蟺伪蟻伪未慰蟽喂伪魏维 渭蠀蟽蟿萎蟻喂伪 蟿蠅谓 尾喂尾位委蠅谓 蟺慰蠀 伪谓伪味畏蟿维渭蔚 蟿慰谓 苇谓慰蠂慰, 蔚未蠋 苇蠅蟼 蟿慰 蟿苇位慰蟼 蠄维蠂谓慰蠀渭蔚 蠈蠂喂 渭蠈谓慰 蟿慰 蟺慰喂慰蟼 蟿慰 苇魏伪谓蔚, 渭伪 魏伪喂 蟿慰 芦蟿喂 苇魏伪谓蔚禄.
螆谓伪 未喂伪尾慰位喂魏蠈 蟺伪蟻伪渭蠉胃喂 渭蔚 蟿蟻伪纬喂魏苇蟼 蔚尉蔚位委尉蔚喂蟼 蟺慰蠀 伪魏慰蠉纬蔚蟿伪喂 伪蟺慰 未喂维蠁慰蟻蔚蟼 魏伪喂 未喂伪蠁慰蟻蔚蟿喂魏苇蟼 蠁蠅谓苇蟼.
螠喂伪 魏位伪蟽喂魏萎 伪谓伪纬谓蠅蟽蟿喂魏萎 蔚渭蟺蔚喂蟻委伪, 渭喂伪 渭伪蟻蟿蠀蟻委伪 蠂蟿喂蟽渭苇谓畏 渭蔚 伪纬维蟺畏, 蠁喂位委伪, 魏伪位苇蟼 魏伪喂 魏伪魏苇蟼 慰喂魏慰纬蔚谓蔚喂伪魏苇蟼 蟽蠂苇蟽蔚喂蟼, 蟿蟻蠈渭慰, 渭蠀蟽蟿萎蟻喂慰, 蟺蟻慰未慰蟽委伪, 蠄蠀蠂慰位慰纬喂魏维 蟺伪喂蠂谓委未喂伪, 蟺委蟽蟿畏, 蟽蠀渭蟺蠈谓慰喂伪 魏伪喂 苇谓蟿慰谓畏 纬慰蟿胃喂魏萎 伪委蟽胃畏蟽畏. 螒蟺蠈位蠀蟿伪 喂蟽慰蟻蟻慰蟺畏渭苇谓伪 魏伪喂 蔚谓伪位位伪蟽蟽蠈渭蔚谓伪 蠋蟽蟿蔚 谓伪 渭畏 蠁胃蔚委蟻慰谓蟿伪喂 渭苇蠂蟻喂 蟿苇位慰蠀蟼.
韦慰 伪蟺蠈位伪蠀蟽伪, 蟿慰 胃伪蠉渭伪蟽伪. 螠蔚 伪谓蟿维渭蔚喂蠄蔚, 蠂伪蟻委味慰谓蟿伪蟼 渭慰蠀 蟺慰位位维 蟺蔚蟻喂蟽蟽蠈蟿蔚蟻伪 伪蟺慰 蠈,蟿喂 渭蟺慰蟻蔚委 谓伪 蠀蟺慰蟽蠂蔚胃蔚委 苇谓伪 渭蠀胃喂蟽蟿慰蟻畏渭伪.
围蟻蠈谓喂伪 螤慰位位维!!!
螝伪位萎 伪谓维纬谓蠅蟽畏.
螤慰位位慰蠉蟼 伪蟽蟺伪蟽渭慰蠉蟼.
April 9, 2017
What took me so long to read this wonderful suspenseful and well written classic? I rarely read mysteries and I was really surprised to find that a book first published in 1859 could be so chilling and mysterious and be as fresh and exciting today as it was in 1859
I started reading the book as part of a group read and the idea was to read the novel as it was originally published in weekly serial format and while I did try to stick with the rules I am afraid my curiosity and willpower got the better of me and I just could not put down this compelling and extremely well written mystery. So my apologies to the group for not sticking with the format of reading but grateful for the push to read a book that I might otherwise have missed out on.
" A mysterious figure, a woman in white, appears out of nowhere on a London street at midnight running away from someone or something and in a distressed state, she meets Walter Hartright, an a teacher of Art and little does he know but this mysterious lady will haunt him and change the course of his life.
Manor Houses, ghostly figures by gravesides, mysterious letters and asylums and devious characters are what make this such a compelling read. The story is narrated by several different characters, all portraying their their own experiences. The book is just under 700 pages and is quite a read and yet the pacing and plot development is extremely well thought out. I downloaded the book on my kindle but was informed by a friend that there existed an absolutely amazing audio version narrated by Josephine Bailey and Simon Prebble and while I was skeptical that my interest could be sustained for over 25 hours decided to download the Audio as well and was pleasantly surprised by how much I enjoyed the production and the fact that I was able to read and listen really added to the the overall enjoyment of this book. My only regret is my lack of discipline to read this one over the period of weeks as per the reading groups instructions.
A great book for readers who enjoy classics or Victorian mysteries with terrific plot lines with well developed characters and a little romance with good old fashioned twists and turns.
Want to read
January 17, 2024i love old-timey horror. their idea of what's scary is like, A Cupboard Shutting or A Lady With The Right To Vote
November 8, 2022
Walter Hartright comes across a woman clad in white on a moonlit night; a tutoring assignment finds his student to be identical to the Woman in White! What starts as a daring affair slowly but surely evolves into a waste against time to save his amour as the privilege seek to destroy her! A thoughtful and controversial detective mystery that was built around the gender inequality of the day as the antagonists use their male power to subvert their victims!
Originally published in 'All Year Round' periodical from 1859 to 1860 this 'sensation' novel serial was a commercial success but not so much so with the critics. Sometimes framed as a supernatural, horror and/or mystery work, this ultimately, became with the passage of the time one of the earliest detective genre reads, and it still stands tall today, in my opinion, 8 out of 12, Four Star Read. Although warning it does really go to town with details, but that might be my impatient 21st century brain moaning.
The pic and GIF are from the 1948 movie adaptation starring Alexis Smith, Eleanor Parker, Sydney Greenstreet, and Gig Young.
2022 read
Originally published in 'All Year Round' periodical from 1859 to 1860 this 'sensation' novel serial was a commercial success but not so much so with the critics. Sometimes framed as a supernatural, horror and/or mystery work, this ultimately, became with the passage of the time one of the earliest detective genre reads, and it still stands tall today, in my opinion, 8 out of 12, Four Star Read. Although warning it does really go to town with details, but that might be my impatient 21st century brain moaning.
The pic and GIF are from the 1948 movie adaptation starring Alexis Smith, Eleanor Parker, Sydney Greenstreet, and Gig Young.
2022 read
July 12, 2022
Hay que tener paciencia con Wilkie Collins, pero, al final, te deja un buen sabor de boca.
Dicen que Collins es el precursor de la novela negra y, en cierta manera, se nota en sus libros.
No me apasion贸 todo el entramado amoroso, pero los personajes son de una profundidad enorme. Hace tiempo que lo le铆 y sigo acord谩ndome de ellos. Un cl谩sico imprescindible.
You have to be patient with wilkie Collins, but in the end it leaves a good taste in your mouth.
They say Collins is the forerunner of the crime novel and, in a way, you can see it in his books.
I wasn't passionate about the whole love network, but the characters are of enormous depth. I've been reading it for a long time and I still remember them. An indispensable classic.
Dicen que Collins es el precursor de la novela negra y, en cierta manera, se nota en sus libros.
No me apasion贸 todo el entramado amoroso, pero los personajes son de una profundidad enorme. Hace tiempo que lo le铆 y sigo acord谩ndome de ellos. Un cl谩sico imprescindible.
You have to be patient with wilkie Collins, but in the end it leaves a good taste in your mouth.
They say Collins is the forerunner of the crime novel and, in a way, you can see it in his books.
I wasn't passionate about the whole love network, but the characters are of enormous depth. I've been reading it for a long time and I still remember them. An indispensable classic.
November 28, 2020
2 months and I鈥檝e finally finished this. I was skim reading by the end though...
鈥淭here, as if it had that moment sprung out of the earth or dropped from the heaven - stood the figure of a solitary Woman, dressed from head to foot in white garments.鈥�
The beginning of this book sets a great scene. Walter Hartwright is on his way to start his new job as a drawing master to two sisters in a big house in the country.
On route he bumps into a woman dressed all in white - asking directions to London. She seems distressed, almost ethereal. You could be forgiven for thinking she was even a ghost.
It鈥檚 a great start and I was gripped to find out more about the woman. However we soon realise that the woman in white herself is only a small part of the overall story. She only shows up a few brief times.
Meanwhile Laura and Marian start their drawing lessons. Before long Walter and Laura have fallen in love - but Laura is already betrothed to Sir Percival Glyde, an ass of a man.
Speaking of assess. Sir Percival鈥檚 dear friend Count Fosco is also an ass. As the story went on I found myself growing frustrated with all the back and forth. I feel like all the questions could have been solved a lot quicker. I know this book was written in the 1800s so naturally it would be on the long side. But as a 21st century reader I was getting fed up after about 400 pages.
Overall, I did enjoy all the secrets and how they came about. I just wish it was shorter and that the reveals were quicker.
鈥淭here, as if it had that moment sprung out of the earth or dropped from the heaven - stood the figure of a solitary Woman, dressed from head to foot in white garments.鈥�
The beginning of this book sets a great scene. Walter Hartwright is on his way to start his new job as a drawing master to two sisters in a big house in the country.
On route he bumps into a woman dressed all in white - asking directions to London. She seems distressed, almost ethereal. You could be forgiven for thinking she was even a ghost.
It鈥檚 a great start and I was gripped to find out more about the woman. However we soon realise that the woman in white herself is only a small part of the overall story. She only shows up a few brief times.
Meanwhile Laura and Marian start their drawing lessons. Before long Walter and Laura have fallen in love - but Laura is already betrothed to Sir Percival Glyde, an ass of a man.
Speaking of assess. Sir Percival鈥檚 dear friend Count Fosco is also an ass. As the story went on I found myself growing frustrated with all the back and forth. I feel like all the questions could have been solved a lot quicker. I know this book was written in the 1800s so naturally it would be on the long side. But as a 21st century reader I was getting fed up after about 400 pages.
Overall, I did enjoy all the secrets and how they came about. I just wish it was shorter and that the reveals were quicker.
August 26, 2016
A buddy read on the side with the Non-crunchers 鈥� hold the pants.
Hark! This book is over 150 years old, but, still, spoilers be us.
- Selling English by the pound.
This book has a lot going for it 鈥� a well-wrought plot, humor, some of literatures more enduring characters (Marian, Fosco, crazy Uncle Frederick), but it could have been cut down by a third and been one fine-tuned literary machine. I understand the book was serialized and that Wilkie Collins was probably being paid a tuppence-per-word and was best buds with the great Charles Dickens, who was a prodigious author in his own write (heh!), but, sir, you are no Stephen King, you should have trimmed this puppy down.
- The woman in white
Although Collins doesn鈥檛 give her a lot of page time, her presence permeates the book like that uncle of yours that slathers on Brut. He might be in another room, but you know he鈥檚 still on the premises 鈥� somewhere.
This book was written as a series of first person entries by a number of characters and divided into three epochs.
- Epoch the first
Walter Hartright, is a sieve as a character and an artist, who lands a gig teaching art (of all things) to a pair of sisters. He falls in love with the cute, vapid one and despite some of the most achingly emo-boy prose you鈥檒l ever read, has to keep it in his pants, because the cute, vapid one is betrothed to another. So he runs away to Central America where he sends her lots of sketches of what looks like a Honduran anaconda jumping out of a bush.
- Epoch the second
I love Marian Halcombe, she鈥檚 smart, she鈥檚 got spunk, she鈥檒l stand up for her family and friends, she鈥檚 got a fine bod, but Collins went ahead and gave her a face only a depraved, corpulent, balding, old, sociopathic, Italian Count (Fosco) would love. Plus, she apologizes for being a woman in Victorian society about 1.5 times for page:
If I wasn鈥檛 a woman, I鈥檇 cut that bitch, Countess Fosco.
If I wasn鈥檛 a woman, I鈥檇 kick Sir Perceval in the family jewels.
If I wasn鈥檛 a woman, I鈥檇 get stinking drunk and jump the gardener (or the maid).
- Epoch the third
This is an olde type book so you won鈥檛 find a trail of bodies or Walter Hartright going ninja or a gangsta turf war, but it plays out in satisfactory way. So if you love the classics and haven鈥檛 gotten around to this one, I鈥檇 recommend it.
Hark! This book is over 150 years old, but, still, spoilers be us.
- Selling English by the pound.
This book has a lot going for it 鈥� a well-wrought plot, humor, some of literatures more enduring characters (Marian, Fosco, crazy Uncle Frederick), but it could have been cut down by a third and been one fine-tuned literary machine. I understand the book was serialized and that Wilkie Collins was probably being paid a tuppence-per-word and was best buds with the great Charles Dickens, who was a prodigious author in his own write (heh!), but, sir, you are no Stephen King, you should have trimmed this puppy down.
- The woman in white
Although Collins doesn鈥檛 give her a lot of page time, her presence permeates the book like that uncle of yours that slathers on Brut. He might be in another room, but you know he鈥檚 still on the premises 鈥� somewhere.
This book was written as a series of first person entries by a number of characters and divided into three epochs.
- Epoch the first
Walter Hartright, is a sieve as a character and an artist, who lands a gig teaching art (of all things) to a pair of sisters. He falls in love with the cute, vapid one and despite some of the most achingly emo-boy prose you鈥檒l ever read, has to keep it in his pants, because the cute, vapid one is betrothed to another. So he runs away to Central America where he sends her lots of sketches of what looks like a Honduran anaconda jumping out of a bush.
- Epoch the second
I love Marian Halcombe, she鈥檚 smart, she鈥檚 got spunk, she鈥檒l stand up for her family and friends, she鈥檚 got a fine bod, but Collins went ahead and gave her a face only a depraved, corpulent, balding, old, sociopathic, Italian Count (Fosco) would love. Plus, she apologizes for being a woman in Victorian society about 1.5 times for page:
If I wasn鈥檛 a woman, I鈥檇 cut that bitch, Countess Fosco.
If I wasn鈥檛 a woman, I鈥檇 kick Sir Perceval in the family jewels.
If I wasn鈥檛 a woman, I鈥檇 get stinking drunk and jump the gardener (or the maid).
- Epoch the third
This is an olde type book so you won鈥檛 find a trail of bodies or Walter Hartright going ninja or a gangsta turf war, but it plays out in satisfactory way. So if you love the classics and haven鈥檛 gotten around to this one, I鈥檇 recommend it.
August 27, 2018
Ochocientas ochenta y ocho p谩ginas tiene mi edici贸n de 鈥淟a dama de blanco鈥� y en ning煤n momento el libro me aburre o deja de mantener el suspenso de todo lo que sucede alrededor de esta impresionante novela escrita tan magistralmente por Wilkie Collins.
Son pocos los autores que pueden darse el lujo de lograr lo que Collins genera en sus novelas. Muchos aseguran que es una de las cinco mejores novelas de misterio jam谩s escrita y de hecho aseguran que su otra obra maestra, 鈥淟a piedra lunar鈥� la acompa帽a.
Wilkie Collins, un maestro de la novela de suspenso, dramaturgo y ensayista y adem谩s socio literario de otro gigante, Charles Dickens, logr贸 fama y 茅xito a partir de "La piedra lunar" y se transform贸 en uno de los principales referentes de un g茅nero que hoy se sigue leyendo en todo el mundo y que adquiere adeptos en forma constante y sostenida.
La trama argumental de la novela es clara y aparentemente simple: 鈥淓l joven profesor de dibujo Walter Hartright viaja a Cumberland para dar clases a dos j贸venes y ricas herederas, las hermanas Laura y Marian Fairlie. Laura se enamora de el pero los agradables d铆as en Limmeridge House acaban con la llegada del prometido de Laura, Sir Percival Glyde. Este alberga la intenci贸n de arrebatarle toda su herencia y cuenta con la ayuda del siniestro conde Fosco para llevar a cabo sus planes. Solo se interpone en su camino una misteriosa dama vestida de blanco que, al parecer, ha escapado de un sanatorio mental..."
Narrada de forma similar a "La piedra lunar" a partir de testimonios, cartas, diarios y notas, el argumento de "La dama de blanco" gira alrededor de cinco personajes bien determinados: la hermosa Laura Fairlie, posteriormente lady Glyde, de su marido, el inescrupuloso y taimado sir Percival Glyde, del conde Fosco, un oscuro y tenebroso conde italiano que influencia a Percival y lo controla todo. Estos dos har谩n lo imposible para quedarse con la fortuna de Laura, pero ella no estar谩 sola y tendr谩 quienes la ayuden y defiendan ante la injusticia: su hermana Marian Halcombe y el profesor de dibujo Walter Hartright, de quien a principios de la novela Laura se enamora.
Un toque m谩s de maestr铆a introduce Wilkie Collins en todo este entramado de misterio y es la aparici贸n de Anne Catherick, una supuesta mujer escapada de un sanatorio mental que dice posee un secreto que puede desenmascarar el pasado de si Percival Glyde. El s贸lo hecho de incluir este elemento pr谩cticamente al principio de la novela lo cambia todo y a partir de all铆 lograr谩 que el lector se mantenga atento a todo lo que surja m谩s adelante. Nunca, en ning煤n cap铆tulo del libro ese inter茅s decae, porque otros factores argumentales tambi茅n influyen para mantener la intriga de c贸mo puede terminar todo.
Cuando parece que ya est谩 la verdad a la vista surgen otros inconvenientes que le dan la vuelta de tuerca a la trama y eso es lo que pasa en las 煤ltimas cien p谩ginas del libro.
Todo el desarrollo de la novela est谩 centrado en tres lugares bien definidos que son la localidad de Limmeridge, en la mansi贸n donde comienza a narrar la historia Walter Hartright, luego en Blackwater Park donde transcurren gran parte de los sucesos m谩s importantes y tambi茅n en la localidad de Cumberland, sede de distintos "descubrimientos" que Walter y Marian Halcombe realizan.
Cabe destacar que Wilkie Collins sabe c贸mo meterse en la piel de cada personaje. Puede ser un tipo inescrupuloso y despiadado como sir Percival Glyde, peligroso y ventajero como el conde Fosco pero tambi茅n dulce y sensible tal es el caso de Laura Fairie o meterse dentro de la piel combativa de una mujer con todas las letras: Marian Halcombe.
Y por supuesto, Anne Catherick, la dama de blanco que le da el nombre a la novela, que es el personaje clave de todo este embrollo y que ser谩 quien haga encajar todas las piezas de un rompecabezas muy complejo ideado por el autor. Cada una de sus aperciones fantasmales har谩n que toda la escena cambie, alimentar谩n la intriga y provocar谩n una giro en la narraci贸n que no estaba contemplado.
P谩rrafo aparte para la encendida defensa que Collins hace de la mujer y de sus derechos ya en el a帽o 1850 y de c贸mo, sin utilizar el t茅rmino "feminismo" deja bien en claro lo que representan en este mundo las mujeres. Eso es algo a lo que prest茅 mucha atenci贸n durante la lectura de muchos pasajes del libro.
Wilkie Collins escribi贸 una excelente novela, tal vez, un pelda帽o por debajo de "La piedra lunar", pero no por ellos menos intrigante.
Repito, no es f谩cil sostener un suspense de casi novecientas p谩ginas. Genialidades como 茅sta solo est谩n destinadas a escritores tan 煤nicos como Wilkie Collins.
Son pocos los autores que pueden darse el lujo de lograr lo que Collins genera en sus novelas. Muchos aseguran que es una de las cinco mejores novelas de misterio jam谩s escrita y de hecho aseguran que su otra obra maestra, 鈥淟a piedra lunar鈥� la acompa帽a.
Wilkie Collins, un maestro de la novela de suspenso, dramaturgo y ensayista y adem谩s socio literario de otro gigante, Charles Dickens, logr贸 fama y 茅xito a partir de "La piedra lunar" y se transform贸 en uno de los principales referentes de un g茅nero que hoy se sigue leyendo en todo el mundo y que adquiere adeptos en forma constante y sostenida.
La trama argumental de la novela es clara y aparentemente simple: 鈥淓l joven profesor de dibujo Walter Hartright viaja a Cumberland para dar clases a dos j贸venes y ricas herederas, las hermanas Laura y Marian Fairlie. Laura se enamora de el pero los agradables d铆as en Limmeridge House acaban con la llegada del prometido de Laura, Sir Percival Glyde. Este alberga la intenci贸n de arrebatarle toda su herencia y cuenta con la ayuda del siniestro conde Fosco para llevar a cabo sus planes. Solo se interpone en su camino una misteriosa dama vestida de blanco que, al parecer, ha escapado de un sanatorio mental..."
Narrada de forma similar a "La piedra lunar" a partir de testimonios, cartas, diarios y notas, el argumento de "La dama de blanco" gira alrededor de cinco personajes bien determinados: la hermosa Laura Fairlie, posteriormente lady Glyde, de su marido, el inescrupuloso y taimado sir Percival Glyde, del conde Fosco, un oscuro y tenebroso conde italiano que influencia a Percival y lo controla todo. Estos dos har谩n lo imposible para quedarse con la fortuna de Laura, pero ella no estar谩 sola y tendr谩 quienes la ayuden y defiendan ante la injusticia: su hermana Marian Halcombe y el profesor de dibujo Walter Hartright, de quien a principios de la novela Laura se enamora.
Un toque m谩s de maestr铆a introduce Wilkie Collins en todo este entramado de misterio y es la aparici贸n de Anne Catherick, una supuesta mujer escapada de un sanatorio mental que dice posee un secreto que puede desenmascarar el pasado de si Percival Glyde. El s贸lo hecho de incluir este elemento pr谩cticamente al principio de la novela lo cambia todo y a partir de all铆 lograr谩 que el lector se mantenga atento a todo lo que surja m谩s adelante. Nunca, en ning煤n cap铆tulo del libro ese inter茅s decae, porque otros factores argumentales tambi茅n influyen para mantener la intriga de c贸mo puede terminar todo.
Cuando parece que ya est谩 la verdad a la vista surgen otros inconvenientes que le dan la vuelta de tuerca a la trama y eso es lo que pasa en las 煤ltimas cien p谩ginas del libro.
Todo el desarrollo de la novela est谩 centrado en tres lugares bien definidos que son la localidad de Limmeridge, en la mansi贸n donde comienza a narrar la historia Walter Hartright, luego en Blackwater Park donde transcurren gran parte de los sucesos m谩s importantes y tambi茅n en la localidad de Cumberland, sede de distintos "descubrimientos" que Walter y Marian Halcombe realizan.
Cabe destacar que Wilkie Collins sabe c贸mo meterse en la piel de cada personaje. Puede ser un tipo inescrupuloso y despiadado como sir Percival Glyde, peligroso y ventajero como el conde Fosco pero tambi茅n dulce y sensible tal es el caso de Laura Fairie o meterse dentro de la piel combativa de una mujer con todas las letras: Marian Halcombe.
Y por supuesto, Anne Catherick, la dama de blanco que le da el nombre a la novela, que es el personaje clave de todo este embrollo y que ser谩 quien haga encajar todas las piezas de un rompecabezas muy complejo ideado por el autor. Cada una de sus aperciones fantasmales har谩n que toda la escena cambie, alimentar谩n la intriga y provocar谩n una giro en la narraci贸n que no estaba contemplado.
P谩rrafo aparte para la encendida defensa que Collins hace de la mujer y de sus derechos ya en el a帽o 1850 y de c贸mo, sin utilizar el t茅rmino "feminismo" deja bien en claro lo que representan en este mundo las mujeres. Eso es algo a lo que prest茅 mucha atenci贸n durante la lectura de muchos pasajes del libro.
Wilkie Collins escribi贸 una excelente novela, tal vez, un pelda帽o por debajo de "La piedra lunar", pero no por ellos menos intrigante.
Repito, no es f谩cil sostener un suspense de casi novecientas p谩ginas. Genialidades como 茅sta solo est谩n destinadas a escritores tan 煤nicos como Wilkie Collins.
August 16, 2022
As a good friend of mine told me a few months ago, The Woman in White reads like an addictive soap opera, where a lot of things are happening, one after another, and whose story is so easy to read鈥攏ow I can tell it is the more readable Victorian book I have picked up so far鈥攖herefore, very entertaining and exciting.
I couldn't agree more with her, not only because the novel is indeed so riveting that you can't put it down once you start reading it, but also because it is beautifully written, with very well developed characters and a coherent, quite impressive plot as well as ending. If you ask me, I wasn't able to find out 'the secret' that is typical in sensation novels until the end of the book, when the author finally reveals it to the reader.
The Woman in White has everything that you need to enjoy a good sensation novel, perhaps with a cup of tea during the afternoon, while you read it. Now, I would agree that the book might be kind of 'daunting' because of its number of pages (700 or so), but it is by no means anything of that kind. Written as a series of diary entries, letters and notes, the story introduces a lot of characters that will be involved in a common mystery, a secret, and a possible crime, a plot that will be told masterfully by all the narrators鈥攕ome characters that are part of the story are also the narrators鈥攖hat have at least one thing to say in order to develop a complete story.
Our main protagonist is Walter Hartright鈥攖hough he is not present during a great amount of chapters鈥攚ho is besides the first narrator and a young teacher of drawing who starts working at Limmeridge House, having two students there: Laura Fairlie and her half-sister, Marian Halcombe. It is around this house and especially this family that the main plot is about, being really important for me to mention two more characters: the woman in white and Count Fosco.
Speaking of the woman in white, I would like to say the first time this brilliant character appears in the story was incredibly well described and narrated, with a mysterious, somewhat gloomy atmosphere that was also common in almost every single chapter 鈥� it was indeed from that moment on that I couldn't put the book down. As for Count Fosco, perhaps he was my only disappointment(?) in the novel, and not because he was not a great character鈥攊n fact, my friend told me Count Fosco is one of the greatest villains in literature based on her own reading experiences, and I would mostly agree on that, Fosco is actually sneaky, manipulative and downright evil鈥攂ut because of his relatively late appearance in the story, being almost in the middle of the book, since I was much more interested in seeing the character's development and reading about his own beliefs, thoughts, etc. from the beginning and not almost at the end. Actually, I read this novel by listening to the audiobook鈥擨'd like to give a shoutout to Billy Howle for such a great performance, another audiobook I would highly recommend鈥攁nd I even remembered the first time Count Fosco is mentioned I was starting to wonder why that didn't happen way earlier in the story (for the record, it was a 25-hour audiobook).
In a nutshell, The Woman in White is a 5-star novel for me because it definitely lived up to my expectations, I truly enjoyed reading it from cover to cover, and I therefore consider it is worth giving it a go. Though it was my first experience reading a long sensation novel, I can tell it won't be the last one, mainly because, as a genre I was not familiar with, I completely love the way both characters and story are developed, which somehow makes me want to pick up other novels of that kind right away, such as Lady Audley's Secret by Mary Elizabeth Braddon and East Lynne by Ellen Wood; hopefully sooner rather than later.
When two members of a family or two intimate friends are separated, and one goes abroad and one remains at home, the return of the relative or friend who has been travelling always seems to place the relative or friend who has been staying at home at a painful disadvantage when the two first meet. The sudden encounter of the new thoughts and new habits eagerly gained in the one case, with the old thoughts and old habits passively preserved in the other, seems at first to part the sympathies of the most loving relatives and the fondest friends, and to set a sudden strangeness, unexpected by both and uncontrollable by both, between them on either side.
I couldn't agree more with her, not only because the novel is indeed so riveting that you can't put it down once you start reading it, but also because it is beautifully written, with very well developed characters and a coherent, quite impressive plot as well as ending. If you ask me, I wasn't able to find out 'the secret' that is typical in sensation novels until the end of the book, when the author finally reveals it to the reader.
The Woman in White has everything that you need to enjoy a good sensation novel, perhaps with a cup of tea during the afternoon, while you read it. Now, I would agree that the book might be kind of 'daunting' because of its number of pages (700 or so), but it is by no means anything of that kind. Written as a series of diary entries, letters and notes, the story introduces a lot of characters that will be involved in a common mystery, a secret, and a possible crime, a plot that will be told masterfully by all the narrators鈥攕ome characters that are part of the story are also the narrators鈥攖hat have at least one thing to say in order to develop a complete story.
Our main protagonist is Walter Hartright鈥攖hough he is not present during a great amount of chapters鈥攚ho is besides the first narrator and a young teacher of drawing who starts working at Limmeridge House, having two students there: Laura Fairlie and her half-sister, Marian Halcombe. It is around this house and especially this family that the main plot is about, being really important for me to mention two more characters: the woman in white and Count Fosco.
Speaking of the woman in white, I would like to say the first time this brilliant character appears in the story was incredibly well described and narrated, with a mysterious, somewhat gloomy atmosphere that was also common in almost every single chapter 鈥� it was indeed from that moment on that I couldn't put the book down. As for Count Fosco, perhaps he was my only disappointment(?) in the novel, and not because he was not a great character鈥攊n fact, my friend told me Count Fosco is one of the greatest villains in literature based on her own reading experiences, and I would mostly agree on that, Fosco is actually sneaky, manipulative and downright evil鈥攂ut because of his relatively late appearance in the story, being almost in the middle of the book, since I was much more interested in seeing the character's development and reading about his own beliefs, thoughts, etc. from the beginning and not almost at the end. Actually, I read this novel by listening to the audiobook鈥擨'd like to give a shoutout to Billy Howle for such a great performance, another audiobook I would highly recommend鈥攁nd I even remembered the first time Count Fosco is mentioned I was starting to wonder why that didn't happen way earlier in the story (for the record, it was a 25-hour audiobook).
In a nutshell, The Woman in White is a 5-star novel for me because it definitely lived up to my expectations, I truly enjoyed reading it from cover to cover, and I therefore consider it is worth giving it a go. Though it was my first experience reading a long sensation novel, I can tell it won't be the last one, mainly because, as a genre I was not familiar with, I completely love the way both characters and story are developed, which somehow makes me want to pick up other novels of that kind right away, such as Lady Audley's Secret by Mary Elizabeth Braddon and East Lynne by Ellen Wood; hopefully sooner rather than later.
When two members of a family or two intimate friends are separated, and one goes abroad and one remains at home, the return of the relative or friend who has been travelling always seems to place the relative or friend who has been staying at home at a painful disadvantage when the two first meet. The sudden encounter of the new thoughts and new habits eagerly gained in the one case, with the old thoughts and old habits passively preserved in the other, seems at first to part the sympathies of the most loving relatives and the fondest friends, and to set a sudden strangeness, unexpected by both and uncontrollable by both, between them on either side.
September 16, 2016
Originally published in a weekly periodical between late 1859 and 1860 as a serial story, this is believed to be the first English crime detection novel. This is Victorian fiction that combines romance, mystery and Gothic horror with a psychological twist.
The story opens with an eerie encounter, in the dead of night on a moonlit London road.
In one moment, every drop of blood in my body was brought to a stop鈥� There, as if it had that moment sprung out of the earth鈥tood the figure of a solitary woman, dressed from head to foot in white.
Collins had me at hello. This is the story of what a woman鈥檚 patience can endure, and what a man鈥檚 resolution can achieve. I loved the fly on the wall perspective of events as revealed through a series of narrators, starting with Walter Hartright, drawing master of the time and place, who introduced me to Marian Halcombe thusly;
The instant my eyes rested on her, I was struck by the rare beauty of her form, and by the unaffected grace of her attitude. Her figure was tall, yet not too tall; comely and well developed, yet not fat; her head sat on her shoulders with an easy, pliant firmness; her waist, perfection in the eyes of man, for it occupied it鈥檚 natural place, it filled out its natural circle, it was visibly and delightfully undeformed by stays. She had not heard my entrance into the room; and I allowed myself the luxury of admiring her for a few moments, before I moved one of the chairs near me, as the least embarrassing means of attracting her attention. She turned towards me immediately. The easy elegance of every movement of her limbs and body as soon as she began to advance from the far end of the room, set me in a flutter of expectation to see her face clearly. She left the window 鈥� and I said to myself, The lady is dark. She moved forward a few steps 鈥� and I said to myself, The lady is young. She approached nearer 鈥� and I said to myself (with a sense of surprise which words fail me to express), The lady is ugly!
Marian knows who she is, personally and as a woman in Victorian society. She reflects these qualities and embraces society鈥檚 expectations with elegance and grace, deftly, slowly, surely and quite successfully disarming her male audience and the reader with her charming, disarming, demeanour that both mirrors and ever so subtly mocks those expectations. Never have I been so invested in a character. I adore and applaud her. She is simply one of the most deftly drawn, beautiful and complex renderings I have ever encountered in the written word.
Without a doubt it is Collins characters that both support and propel this story, each in their own unique voice, of which Marian is but one. All brilliantly drawn and cleverly revealed as time goes by. It is a classic, therefore it is wordy, with long drawn out, highly descriptive sentences that go on and on and on as they slowly, persistently tug you forward.
No matter! I lapped up every word.
The story opens with an eerie encounter, in the dead of night on a moonlit London road.
In one moment, every drop of blood in my body was brought to a stop鈥� There, as if it had that moment sprung out of the earth鈥tood the figure of a solitary woman, dressed from head to foot in white.
Collins had me at hello. This is the story of what a woman鈥檚 patience can endure, and what a man鈥檚 resolution can achieve. I loved the fly on the wall perspective of events as revealed through a series of narrators, starting with Walter Hartright, drawing master of the time and place, who introduced me to Marian Halcombe thusly;
The instant my eyes rested on her, I was struck by the rare beauty of her form, and by the unaffected grace of her attitude. Her figure was tall, yet not too tall; comely and well developed, yet not fat; her head sat on her shoulders with an easy, pliant firmness; her waist, perfection in the eyes of man, for it occupied it鈥檚 natural place, it filled out its natural circle, it was visibly and delightfully undeformed by stays. She had not heard my entrance into the room; and I allowed myself the luxury of admiring her for a few moments, before I moved one of the chairs near me, as the least embarrassing means of attracting her attention. She turned towards me immediately. The easy elegance of every movement of her limbs and body as soon as she began to advance from the far end of the room, set me in a flutter of expectation to see her face clearly. She left the window 鈥� and I said to myself, The lady is dark. She moved forward a few steps 鈥� and I said to myself, The lady is young. She approached nearer 鈥� and I said to myself (with a sense of surprise which words fail me to express), The lady is ugly!
Marian knows who she is, personally and as a woman in Victorian society. She reflects these qualities and embraces society鈥檚 expectations with elegance and grace, deftly, slowly, surely and quite successfully disarming her male audience and the reader with her charming, disarming, demeanour that both mirrors and ever so subtly mocks those expectations. Never have I been so invested in a character. I adore and applaud her. She is simply one of the most deftly drawn, beautiful and complex renderings I have ever encountered in the written word.
Without a doubt it is Collins characters that both support and propel this story, each in their own unique voice, of which Marian is but one. All brilliantly drawn and cleverly revealed as time goes by. It is a classic, therefore it is wordy, with long drawn out, highly descriptive sentences that go on and on and on as they slowly, persistently tug you forward.
No matter! I lapped up every word.
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