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The Woman in White
The Woman in White
The Woman in White
Audiobook25 hours

The Woman in White

Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

4/5

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About this audiobook

One of the greatest mystery thrillers ever written, Wilkie Collins's The Woman in White was a phenomenal bestseller in the 1860s, achieving even greater success than works by Charles Dickens. Full of surprise, intrigue, and suspense, this vastly entertaining novel continues to enthrall audiences today.

The story begins with an eerie midnight encounter between artist Walter Hartright and a ghostly woman dressed all in white who seems desperate to share a dark secret. The next day Hartright, engaged as a drawing master to the beautiful Laura Fairlie and her half sister, tells his pupils about the strange events of the previous evening. Determined to learn all they can about the mysterious woman in white, the three soon find themselves drawn into a chilling vortex of crime, poison, kidnapping, and international intrigue.

Masterfully constructed, The Woman in White is dominated by two of the finest creations in all Victorian fiction-Marion Halcombe, dark, mannish, yet irresistibly fascinating, and Count Fosco, the sinister and flamboyant "Napoleon of Crime."
LanguageEnglish
Release dateDec 14, 2010
ISBN9781400189427
Author

Wilkie Collins

William Wilkie Collins (1824–1889) was an English novelist, playwright, and author of short stories. He wrote 30 novels, more than 60 short stories, 14 plays, and more than 100 essays. His best-known works are The Woman in White and The Moonstone.

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Reviews for The Woman in White

Rating: 4.223744292237443 out of 5 stars
4/5

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  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    Good old-fashioned story-telling at its best! Though the British insistence on class distinctions and the characterization of women are often maddening, the strong narrative and compelling mystery at the center of this novel easily overcome these annoyances. Collins had a wide-ranging influence on his contemporary authors, and his work deserves to be more widely read today.

    1 person found this helpful

  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    It's easy to think that cultural sensations like Game of Thrones or Harry Potter are unique to 21st century life, but The Woman in White, a serialized Victorian novel published in 1860 was just as much of a cultural phenomenon in its day. And I'm here to tell you that it holds up! This story of greed, chance, look-alikes, madness, forgery, complicated British inheritance laws, thwarted love, murder, and a couple of truly amazingly drawn Italians (one good, one so wonderfully bad) is just as much of a page turner 160 years after its publication. Collins tells his story as a kind of a legal disposition with characters stepping into to tell their memories or share their diary entries surrounding the tragic and compelling story of Anne Catherick, the woman in white herself, and Laura Fairlie, a wealthy and innocent young woman who bears a strong resemblance to Anne. This technique helps highlight Collins' knack for creating characters with unique voices, while also letting certain unreliable narrators be as unreliable as they want without an omniscient narrator stepping in to straighten things out. It's hard to do any justice to the plot of this 500+ page novel in (and to avoid any spoilers) in a summary, so I'll just encourage anyone with a love for Victorian sensationalism to dig in. My only real criticism is that the book loses some of its drive as we reach the conclusion: in part this is a natural side effect of needing to tie up all the loose ends, but it is also a result of losing the amazing voice of Marian Halcome, Laura's devoted half-sister, in the third volume of the book. More Marian and more Fosco!

    1 person found this helpful

  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    Eerie but not frightening, wonderfully paced plot, characters you like and understand.

    1 person found this helpful

  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    I have the same complaint here as I do in my review of Collins' No Name, that strong women do not seem to get too far in Collins' world. The story is entertaining and well crafted, but the plot leaves me dissatisfied. I have a feeling that I would have really disliked Wilkie Collins if I knew him personally.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    A drawing master by trade, detective sleuth by choice, and smitten with ill timed love by fate, Walter Hartright shares with us a story that began with a mystery encounter with a woman in white on a dark and foggy night. The identity of this mystifying lady, her plight and struggle becomes the central focus of the book in which all other characters participate in sharing. Wilkie Collin's epistolary novel is filled with all the components which make for a great and timeless classic. The characters are memorable, enter Mr. Fairlie and his anal but hilarious ways, Marian Halcombe, a heroine who can stand solidly on her own two feet; the drama is gripping as we discover the identity of the woman in white and her secrets; the love of Mr. Hartright for his beloved is swoon worthy, and the issues such as class struggles and marriage woes, are universal. Part romance, with a dollop of mystery, and a dash of crime, and a generous portion of entertainment, this classic was one that has never been out of print since it's first publication date, and once read, the reason behind its success is evident.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    This book is thrilling, literally thrilling; and I don't use that word lightly. Page 86 is particularly good. It turned my arms in to two fields of nipples. It's one of those books where the pleasure lies not in having read it all, but in reading it. So many clues, true and false, reveals and misdirections, goodies and baddies. The Ferrero Rocher of thrillers. I feel thoroughly spoiled!
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    It is not necessarily easy these days to read a 500+ thriller which leaves no stones unturned. Collins, however, manages to transcend time and keeps the suspense alive through the entire tale. The characters are colourful and unique, the plot (albeit rather convoluted) creative and well crafted, the decor mysterious. Collins uses techniques, including various voices to tell the tale, that are cutting-edge and still used today. A marvelous novel that still keeps readers at the edge of their seats.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    This book was laborious. There were moments when I would have believed the damn thing was continuing to add pages to itself as I read it. The book switches POVs throughout, and that helps - I can't imagine it told from a single POV - but I still struggled to pick it back up. I found the characters in the first epoch exasperating; Walter Hartwright was just so hopelessly romantic. And by romantic I mean a melodramatic Byron wannabe. Laura, the character the whole story revolves around, actually left very little impression on me at all, and her sister Marion, of whom I expected strong, rational sense from, let me down when the story's POV switched to hers. The second epoch was the worst for me though. Marion becomes more the character I expected her to be and I really liked her, and Hartwright was thankfully absent, but the second epoch was all about winding up the tension; subtle, brilliantly done foreshadowing and a slow build up to the inevitable Terrible Event. Most people relish this part of the story – that sense of dread anticipation. I am not most people. The second epoch nearly killed me: I could recognise the brilliance of the writing and story telling but at the same time, just get it over with already! I had prepared myself for Percival being a nasty piece of work; the more obsequious he became in the first epoch, the more obvious it was to me that he was going to be an ass. Fosco though, Fosco was truly the villain in this tale. The more he smiled and sided with the women, the diabolical he became. This was the part I had to make myself read. The third and final epoch was for me the best one because now things were getting done. The climax of the story, the biggest plot twist (which I did guess before it was revealed) is over with and the third epoch is about fixing things; making the villains pay by searching out and revealing their secrets. Hartwright's time away did him good and he's not nearly the twit he was in the first epoch; he becomes a believable hero. Laura just got on my nerves; her special snowflake status from the start makes it hard to properly sympathise with her for her truly horrible experiences in epoch two. Percival's comeuppance was all about the chase; lots of action, and a secret that when revealed didn't sound like it was worth all his efforts at concealment until the author makes us aware that at the time it was a capital crime. His final confrontation was excellent though; I didn't see that coming. But Fosco, Fosco is revealed to be the true threat, the real evil genius. If Doyle's Moriarty wasn't strongly influenced by Collins' Fosco I'll eat my socks. At the same time, I got the strong sense that Collins had the most fun in creating Fosco; I'd dearly love to know how much of himself he put into his mad creation. Fosco's character was just so different in every way to all the others that by the end it felt like the rest of the story was created merely to give Fosco reason for existing. Both final acts failed to surprise me: too much attention was made of the scarred man for him to be background, and no way could any author from this time period walk away from a fortune and a title, even on behalf of their characters. but it was a satisfying ending nonetheless. A brilliant read that I'd recommend to anyone interested in a good story. So many of the tropes and plot devices used today came from authors like Collins and it's worth reading if only to see them done by a master. But it's definitely not a quick read.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    I love mysteries and why it took me so long to read this classic is my mistake. The twists and turns in this 19th century mystery are many. As a 21st century woman I struggled with the concept of how little control women had over their lives and financial security. Wilkie is adept at weaving the concept of men controlling women’s lives adeptly into this mystery.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    I have been wanting to read this book for a long time, but due to its long length and tiny font (on my copy), I kept on putting it off. I finished this book last night. What a fantastic story! A well-spun mystery with complex characters and plot. If you enjoy reading books like Rebecca, Jane Eyre, or The Thirteenth Tale, then you will love this book.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    4.5 stars for this audiobook edition but 4 stars for the book itself. I especially liked the fact that the different narratives were narrated by different people! I am glad that I decided to revisit this classic (read previously in 2012). While I remembered some important plot points, I found that I had completely forgotten both Anne Catherick's secret and the ending re: Count Fosco! However, in this reread my feeling of annoyance with Laura Fairlie was increased -- in particular, her stupidity in not calling off her engagement when the opportunity was offered bothered me. And am I alone in feeling that perhaps Marian was also in love with Walter Hartright?
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    The Woman in White by, Wilkie CollinsThis is a classic author I have just discovered and after reading this one I will be reading/devouring everything he has written. This was gothic fiction at its best and the story kept you on the edge of your seat all the way through. Every time I thought I had this story figured out the author would throw in another clue/red herring and throw my theory right out the window.Marion was a great character who seemed ahead of her time she was so strong in a time when women don’t seem to have that kind of strength. I don’t know how Laura would have managed on her own she was a quite weak. Anne seemed actually stronger than Laura even with all she had been through.Count Fosco was a very interesting character too one of the best written villains ( If that is what he was),he has become one of my favorite villains in literature. He was charming in that slimy kind of way and I do believe showed real affection towards Marion.I liked the multiple character viewpoints I found it a great way to give the reader the entire story as the different characters saw it unfold. This book is a classic but not your run of the mill classic it is far from boring and is a great mystery. I couldn’t get enough of this book I never wanted to let it go when I had to get something done and for a chunkster that’s saying something. If you are looking for a classic to revitalize your love of classics or to introduce someone to the classics this is the book to choose. I am off to find anything else this man has written!5 Stars
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    I am so glad a friend mentioned this book in an off-hand comment. This must be the spring of Victorian literature, as I have read more about Victorian authors and two books of British Victorian literature during the first 4 months of the year! But onto this review. This is a fascinating piece of work, one that has its flowery language elements that are part of the style, but it doesn't fall into faint Victorian flowery-ness. Instead, it deals with intrigue, with asylums and women sent there against their will, with unrequited love, with estates and drawing masters and evil masking itself as good. Granted, there are the beautiful, helpless damsels and the masculine-looking competent older sister, and the aunt who advocated for women's suffrage is greatly reduced in spirit by the time the events in the book takes place; I look at these images with an eyeroll and a sadness for what women went through then as well as before.The story keeps one guessing: who is that woman in white our narrator saw? Why does he feel drawn to her? What will Laura do, and how will Marian solve the issues of Laura's marriage (and betrayal)? And all of the intrigue, all of the suspense and fascination and page-turning that we now expect of a thriller are in this book. Page-turning? Oh my yes. I would set myself a goal of 50 pages, and look up to find I had already passed 70 or so and it was time to get ready for work the next day. It is fascinating in its historical aspect, in its creativity, and in its drawing of abysmal creatures who walk the earth and seek only to hurt others for their own gain.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    One of the best books I've read, a brilliant and haunting book.
  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    Pressed upon me by my sister, recommended to me by my father, and doubly praised by my mother, The Woman in White, a classic of 19th century fiction, was deemed by T.S. Eliot to be "the first, the longest, and the best of modern English detective novels." It's a fairly fat book (648 pages, small type). At first it took some work to get into the slower-paced rhythms of this book. But I stuck with it. And even though the happenings seemed to be few and far between, this book consistently held my interest. Somewhere around the halfway point I found myself looking forward to picking up the book for further reading. Then, about two-thirds of the way in, events kicked into high gear and the suspense was sustained through to the finish. The plot behind The Woman in White concerns the fates of two sisters, a true love, a despicable husband, a conniving, corpulent Count and various other personages. Much of the fun in reading this book is trying to guess at the connections and motives of the various characters and wondering where certain events are leading. Mysteries encountered earlier in the story are explained later and the result is a satisfying, if somewhat long-winded read. Published in 1860, The Woman in White was a sensation in its day and the author was as well known as his friend Charles Dickens. Collins himself was an interesting character who "braved Victorian morals by living with one mistress and maintaining another in a separate establishment." He died in 1889. I was in the mood for a classic work and The Woman in White was an agreeable choice. The events in this story bring to mind the kind of evil, gloomy atmosphere that is reminiscent of the writings and drawings of Edward Gorey and his fanciful depictions of Victorian characters committing dastardly deeds by dark of night.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    Reading the classics can sometimes be a bit of a “hit-or-miss” adventure for me, especially if I encounter an author who’s writing style leaves me rolling my eyes in frustration. It was my read of Dan Simmons Drood and his in-depth portrayal of the interesting friendship between Collins and Charles Dickens that lead me to acquire a copy of Collins’ The Woman in White. There is a lot to like in this story. I found the use of multiple narrators works really well, especially as each narrator has their own distinct “voice”. I like the idea of the story being revealed slowly, one character’s point of view at a time. And what a cast of characters! As described by one reviewer, Collins invented a “mannish, eloquent Marian Halcombe; a faithful and angelic Laura Fairlie; a sinister, secretive Percival Glyde and a seductive and cunning Count Fosco”. The characters are complex and the dance they engage in is one of filled with mistrust… perfect fodder to drive the suspenseful plot forward. I will admit that Hartright’s encounter on the highway to London at the start of the story had me hoping for a gothic ghost story. No such luck on the ghost story front but I was still satisfied with the devious plot that unfolded before my eyes and the secrets to be gleaned and teased into the open. As a psychological mystery thriller, it is a goodie and well worth the read.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    All in all this was a fairly compelling read, though Laura really annoyed me. Count Fosco is super creepy (as is his wife), Percival Glyde is awful, and Marian is my hero. She is awesome. This was not what I expected, but I enjoyed it as a sensation novel set during the Victorian Era in England. Lots of crazy stuff goes down.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    The spooky classis for excellence. The book is much better than the play and the film. Don't waste your time and read the book.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    The Woman in White was published in 1860 and is one of the first mystery novels. It's told by a variety of narrators according to who was actually involved in whatever part of the story. As is to be expected, some of them know more than others, and some are more reliable than others.The story centers around Laura Fairlie and her half-sister, Marian Halcombe. The first narrator, Walter Hartwright, is hired as their drawing master and in short order falls in love with the beautiful Laura. Alas, she is betrothed to another, the suspicious Sir Percival. Originally, the suspicions about Sir Percival come from the title woman, who Walter meets along a lonely road. It turns out that she had escaped from an asylum, but she insists she doesn't belong there.Of course, there are many twists and turns and connections and theories to be investigated when things all start going terribly wrong. The story being told by various people means the reader goes along for the ride, sometimes guessing where the path will lead, sometimes being led astray. I found it generally quite entertaining, although I found the last couple of sections the most difficult to get through. I guess that's just the nature of the beast - the fun is in the chase, not in the wrapping up.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    It may be long but it is thoroughly engrossing. Really enjoyed this classic thriller.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    This epic tale of women abused by society because they had no legal rights is the story that led to changes in British law. This story awakened the women's rights movement in England.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    This book was an excellent read despite its age. The writing style was very appealing and forthright and quite amusing in places. I liked the way the narrative swapped between those involved. There were many interesting twists and turns and my only disappointment was that the "secret" wasn't that big a deal (but perhaps in its time it was)
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    Very good thriller from the 19th century. Written from different narratives.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    This isn't a ghost story, but rather a tangled soap opera of greed and mistaken identity. The heroine of the novel isn't the mysterious woman in white, or even the hero's love interest, Laura Fairlie, but rather an independent and entirely appealing woman named Marian Halcombe. She's resourceful and intrepid and I can't think of anyone I'd rather rely on in a time of trouble. The story itself concerns Walter Hartright, a young drawing master who takes a job at Limmeridge House and there meets Miss Halcombe and Miss Fairlie. He falls in love with Miss Fairlie and, because of his lower social status, he leaves and joins a dangerous trip to South America in an attempt to forget her. Laura is married to the nefarious Sir Percival, who is, naturally, only after her money. Included in this tale is a desperate woman Walter meets one night as she escapes from a mental asylum and whose fate is tied to Laura's. There's also a colorful Italian Count, who is the most interesting and villainous of men. And present every step of the story is Miss Halcombe, who protects Miss Fairlie, solves the mystery, fascinates the Italian Count, thwarts the bad guys and keeps Walter Hartright pointed in the right direction. There's something to be said for those wordy, Victorian authors. The Woman in White is the most suspenseful novel I have read in a long time. Wilkie Collins takes his time setting the scene, and then he slowly increases the tension, never allowing the reader the easy satisfaction of a quick resolution. Rather, the reader endures what the characters must; long moments of uncertainty, hours trapped without knowing if all was yet lost. It is a credit to Collins' writing that this strategy stands the test of time. Even in our era of instant gratification, I was more than willing to allow this book to hijack my days.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    Why did I wait this long to read this? It's one of my top 10 reads for the year.A beautiful and fragile woman, beloved sister and niece to a bedridden invalid, finds love when a drawing master is engaged for the 2 women. That love is not to be acknowledged because she is betrothed to another, one who is determined to marry her despite her frank admission to him that her heart has been given to another. Her husband appears to be the epitome of grace, charm and thoughtfulness .... until they are wed. She's reunited with her aunt who is married to a jovial Italian Count with a fondness for pet mice and birds ... but what is it about them that is making her nervous? And what is the mystery behind the woman in white, who escaped from a private asylum and who believes she knows a secret that could ruin everything? Told through narratives and journal entries, this tells the tale of greed, danger, secrets, conspiracyfear, and love. This is a page turner you won't want to put down.
  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    Whilst somewhat Gothic in its breathlessness, it's a fine tribute to the advantages of the serial form of writing. I would certainly have been waiting in high anticipation for the next chapter. There is a fine character in the clear thinking and courageous woman,Marian Halcombe, and some fascinating commentaries throughout. His characterisation of mental illness is sympathetic. His use of multiple voices allows for an interesting range of characterisations.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    So much fun! I've read scads of Dickens but this was my first Wilkie Collins. He isn't the writer that Dickens is but so entertaining. I will have to pick up The Moonstone now.
  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    I'm not a big mystery fan, but this was a fairly decent book and much more satisfying than The Moonstone.
  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    I enjoyed the [Woman in White] by [[Wilkie Collins]], but didn’t completely fall in love with it. The last 100 pages dragged. My impression is probably fueled by my 21st century mind which is accustomed to the summing up of a mystery much more quickly than Victorian sensibilities permitted. Collins tells of an artist who falls in love with a woman of superior rank; she and a woman of lowly means—the woman in white— fall victim to a series of evil schemes; the artist and the brilliant Ms. Halcombe, half-sister to the woman of superior rank, right all the wrongs. The story is broken into pieces with each piece being told by a different character. It’s supposed to be like a court case where different portions of testimony, i.e., narrative to one event, would be given by different witnesses. For its time it was probably quite daring. I fell in love with the character of Marian Halcombe and wish that Marian could have found love with her equal, but there was no Mr. Darcy in the cards for this Ms. Bennett.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    Listened to this one as an audiobook. The narrator was not great but I was willing to endure because the story was so good. Classics are classics for a reason. Recommended with reservations.