Name: The Woman in White
Rating: 3.908333333333333 (120 reviews)
ISBN: 9780194230964

Wilkie Collins

Richard G. Lewis

The woman in white first appears at night on a lonely heath near Londonand is next seen at a grave-side in Cumberland. Who is she? Where has she comefrom, and what is her history? She seems alone and friendless, frightened andconfused. And it seems she knows a secret - a secret that could bring ruin andshame to a man who will do anything to keep her silent.This famous mystery thriller has excitement, suspense, romance, and a plot thattwists and turns on every page.

The Woman in White

Edited with an Introduction and Notes by Matthew Sweet.

A whopper of a book. Far too many pages. Well written but Laura is such a bore. Marion and Walter for the win

Sarah Sammis

I've not had a very successful run of book reading recently. I suppose after having so many page turners in a row, I was bound to hit some books that didn't entertain me or engage me. The Woman in White, a novel beloved my many, didn't do much for me. In fact, it earns its placement in a very short list of novels I haven't been inspired to finish reading.

The Woman in White with its epistolary narrative is reminiscent of Bleak House (1852) and shares many of the same flaws. Both are too long, have too many conflicting view points and too many inconsistencies to the plot. These similarities make sense given Collins friendship with Dickens and the fact that the book was originally serialized in Dickens's All Year Round magazine.

Matthew Sweet

The mysterious appearance of a woman dressed in white leads to the discovery of a complicated plot involving a stolen inheritance and an escape from a mental institution.

Erin Darlyn

I absolutely loved this book. It is one of the best novels I have ever read and I have handed it off to the next reader already knowing that I should like to read it again one day. 

I loved the way the author used various narrators rather than one to unveil the intricacies of the whole story. I loved that he kept me guessing the whole time and that I was actually able to experience the thrill of not knowing what was going to happen (a rare treat for me). It was difficult to put the book down! I kept wanting to read just another section (and another, and another…). 

The characters were each brilliant; the storytelling exceptional. Uncle Fairlie was my favorite. His account made me laugh aloud as I read. 

I highly recommend this story. I have already picked up a second work by Wilkie Collins and am looking forward to diving into it.

Colleen

5 Stars

*An eerie and compelling tale of a chance meeting that changes several people’s lives*


The Woman in White is an intimidating doorstop of a book that I've been meaning to read for years but kept pushing down my list. I was afraid this would be one of those classics that's over-hyped or hasn't aged well. I read my first Collins last year but decided to start with one of his much shorter works The Haunted Hotel. I liked it well enough but still didn’t feel inspired to take on The Woman in White.

But with all this quarantine / self-isolation, I decided to stop making excuses and knock out some of these books that I've been procrastinating about reading!

Having finally read The Woman in White, I feel confident in saying that this book does live up to the hype, is worth the lengthy pages, and is still worth reading well over a century later. No wonder Collins favored this book over all his others! 


  “I say what other people only think, and when all the rest of the world is in a conspiracy to accept the mask for the true face, mine is the rash hand that tears off the plump pasteboard, and shows the bare bones beneath.”

Walter Hartright was walking home one night when he came across a mysterious woman in white. That moment set off a chain of events that would change his life forever. 

The story is slow and meandering. The format is narrated by multiple people involved in the incidents each relaying their portion of the events. The story has such big scope although the plot is deceptively simple. The narratives drop subtle and engaging foreshadowing, but there are plenty of surprises in store.

The strongpoint of this book is the excellent characterization. Despite having so many narrators, everyone had such distinct voices. This is one of the best examples of multiple narrators which unique voices that I’ve ever read. Between the star-crossed lovers troupe and the wilting daisy female characters, I should have been rolling my eyes the whole way through. On the surface, this story sounds like it should be agnsty, shallow, and drama filled. Yet it feels so compelling rather than off-putting. 

“It was cold and barren. It was no longer the view that I remembered. The sunshine of her presence was far from me. The charm of her voice no longer murmured in my ear.” 
One can easily see how many modern books have tried to emulate The Woman in White (and to varying degrees of success). Multiple first person narrators usually blend together. It is such a risky format to have all of those characters piecing together a narrative to recap events that already happened. But Collins found the perfect balance masterfully parsing out tidbits of information at just the right rate to keep me captivated.

The other thing I will note is that this was originally published in periodical form. But the author revised it himself when it was converted to novel form, so the story flows seamlessly rather than feeling chopped up. 

It's a long story. And if I were to list out the plot points, there really aren't that many. Especially considering the length of the book. Yet somehow, this story never felt slow or dull. I was so enraptured by the story from cover to cover. The writing is hypnotic, the characters were compelling, and the story is engaging. It all wraps up into one exceptional package! Despite being almost seven-hundred pages long, I was not bored a single minute while reading The Woman in White.


  “Darker and darker, he said; farther and farther yet. Death takes the good, the beautiful, and the young - and spares me. The Pestilence that wastes, the Arrow that strikes, the Sea that drowns, the Grave the closes over Love and Hope, are steps of my journey, and take me nearer and nearer to the End.”

I won't give away anything about the plot. This is definitely a story that is more enjoyable to go into blind. But I will say that it kept me guessing! The slow-burn suspense was so expertly done. This story of Gothic suspense is definitely worth its place in literary history.


RATING FACTORS:
Ease of Reading: 4 Stars
Writing Style: 5 Stars
Characters and Character Development: 5 Stars
Plot Structure and Development: 5 Stars
Level of Captivation: 5 Stars
Originality: 5 Stars

Irene Alegre

Oh God. Too long. Way too long. 200 pages would have sufficed. The writing isn't that great either – that was not Collins' forte, in my opinion. Which means I expected the plot to be really good. 

And I read the whole thing, because I always worry that I will be missing out on something if I don't finish a book. Alas, life's too short to read bad novels.

Sarah Escorsa

This is the first time I read a book by Wilkie Collins and found it quite enjoyable. I really liked the plot, cast of characters and intrigue (which reminded me a lot of Conan Doyle) and would have given the book 4 stars had it not been for its length. At times the book does feel like it will never end as Collins drags on and on. A shame really, as I particularly enjoyed the way he structured the book, with different characters telling different parts of the story. 

Still, I look forward to reading other books by Collins.

La dama de blanco

Maribel González

Estoy entre darle un 3 o un 3'5... Me han gustado la historia y los personajes, todos con una personalidad muy definidos. Y tiene plot twists muy interesantes. Pero hay partes que se me han hecho muy pesadas y, por tanto, a veces veía el final muuuuy lejano. Voy a meditar y cuando haga reseña me decido.

P.D.: Walter, cómo molas! Jaja

Caitlyn Johanna Bolton 

Absolutely fantastic! The first psychological thriller I read and was really surprised that I was gripped by it so much. Collins is an amazing writer and I can't wait to read his other stuff. Perfect starter novel for Collins but also classics.

Marie Rogowski

Yes, this book takes a while to read. But its well worth it. Collins has hereby created a story full of interesting characters and a great mystery. Strongly recommend it to anyone who has the endurance for such a long book

Candelaria neyra

Fucking adored the characters and the story had some great suspense. Although the plot twists didn't cause any reaction in me, they were well written and unexpected.

Natalie

Phenomenal mystery! Loved this writing style. Cool tidbit that Wilkie Collins was a friend and contemporary of Charles Dickens!

Faith Simmons

I went into this book with super high expectations, and although it was a very enjoyable book, it did not completely live up to what I was hoping for. To be fair, this is mostly my fault, as I should not have entered this book with so many preconceived notions about its contents. What I thought was going to be a spooky ghost story turned out to be mystery novel mostly revolving around this problems of the 19th century's upper class. That being said, one part of this book that I particularly loved was its main character, Marian. I found her to be such a refreshing change from how women are typically portrayed in Victorian literature, and I loved following her courage and strength throughout the story. Another thing I enjoyed about this book was the split narration between characters. This kept the plot more "fresh" and also allowed more insight into the events that I would've missed otherwise. This book is a long one, at over 600 pages, but I honestly feel that it could've been closer to 400. Many time I encountered a section of the novel that I felt could've been condensed, while still maintaining Collins' style and vital information to the plot. I would really like to reread this book one day when I can go in with no expectations and increase my focus (I read most of this book in the car with movies playing in the background), as I personally feel that it deserves another chance from me. I still enjoyed it, to be clear, and I definitely recommend it to anyone looking for a good Victorian mystery!

Janet Doré

Similar in feel to Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier, this was a great classic mystery. Keep all in my book club on the edge of their couches.

Gareth Moses

Mirto

The first and greatest of the bestselling Victorian thrillers known as 'sensation novels', The Woman in White opens with a chilling encounter between drawing teacher Walter Hartright and a ghostly female figure on a moonlit road. From this moment Walter is drawn into a terrifying world of intrigue, crime, disguise and insanity, as he tries to save his beautiful pupil Laura from the sinister plans of Sir Percival Glyde and the 'Napoleon of Crime', Count Fosco, in one of the most gripping plots in English fiction.

The Woman in White

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