The Woman in White by Wilkie Collins
Short Summary:
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.
My Review:
This past month here on The Lost Entwife we read THE WOMAN IN WHITE for a month-long blog read-a-long. I was thrilled when this book got chosen because, honestly, it’d been far too long since I read it and the entire thing felt fresh and new.
One of the most fantastic women in literature (in my opinion) occupies the pages of this book. Marian Halcombe is a strong, man-like woman who frequently attacks her own sex with tongue in cheek remarks about their weaknesses. More than that, however, she shows a strength of character that carries the entire story – even so much as to inspire the respect of the goosebump-causing Count Fosco.
Speaking of Count Fosco – I don’t think there could be a villain who makes my skin crawl more. He’s not evil in the typical sense, it’s nothing you can actually put a finger on and his admiration of Marian seems to be at total odds with his actions throughout the book. He’s a fantastic character and one I aspire to be able to write myself one day.
The pace of this book moves so slowly it’s nearly impossible to keep your mind from going over and over the details. Each section of the mystery is given to you from the viewpoint of the person who has seen it – much like the testimony of a witness during a murder trial. There are obviously parts of the book that were more shocking back in Collins day then today, but…I still had a blast reading it and even gasped once or twice!
I highly recommend this book to anyone who loves murder mysteries. While wordy, it is still not intimidating and relatively easy to read. And.. how can you resist after hearing about the characters of Fosco and Marian?
