Book 11 – “The Woman in WHITE” – a classic, gothic mystery

The Woman in White by Wilkie Collins is a classic gothic novel. I obtained a copy of this some time ago from my monthly used book subscription, and when I say “some time ago” I am probably talking a few years ago. It’s been sitting on my to-be-read piles since then because it’s quite a sizable paperback of over 500 pages and I tended to pass it over for shorter reads. I did read another of his titles The Moonstone in 2020 (see here) and enjoyed it a lot but that was read on audio so it didn’t seem so daunting. This challenge has been useful because this book fit the criterium of having a colour in the title and I so I applied myself and I read it.

Wilkie Collins was a friend and contemporary of Charles Dickens and this book was, like many of Dickens’ written in instalments for a magazine. In my view the published book version could have been a little shorter and still had the same impact and I did get a bit bogged down about a third of the way through for a while before the pace seemed to pick up again. It’s narrated by various characters in the story who each have their own quirks, make their own assumptions and know part of what is happening. Sometimes there are extracts from a diary or another document. I really enjoy books told this way and the author is brilliant in assuming different voices for each character which keeps the writing fresh and often adds a touch of amusement.

The main narrator and character is Walter Hartright who is a drawing master engaged to teach the skill to a young woman, Laura Fairlie and her companion Marian Halcombe. On the way to stay in Cumberland with the young women and Laura’s uncle, who is her guardian, he meets a young woman dressed all in white who he protects from a lunatic asylum whose staff are pursuing her. The woman in white is Anne Catterick who looks identical to Laura and who obviously has mental health issues. She pops up at various times as the book progresses issuing warnings about other characters. Walter falls for Laura and obviously has to separate from her as she is engaged to another man and because of their differing positions in society. When he does so she becomes prey to evil men who wish her fortune for their own.

This is a gloriously melodramatic novel. It is full of plot devices that we think of as common today but which were probably innovative in 1860 when the book was first published – these include information overheard through open windows, an envelope explaining matters being left with a third party as the hero ventures into danger, a case of mistaken identity, intercepted communications, wills which encourage murder, suspicious foreigners, innocent young women being prey for older men and our hero being mistakenly arrested. It does, however, also reveal how vulnerable young women, especially rich ones, could be to the machinations of men and how the law is only truly accessible to those with money.

I really enjoyed this book. I thought that a lot of it was amusing, some was scathingly sarcastic, and that the author created a sense of tension for most of the story. I thought that Marian made an excellent, intelligent and brave heroine and I wasn’t quite sure what Walter saw in Laura who seemed a bit of a wet lettuce to me. I particularly liked the Italian Count Fosca who is a multi-layered villain. I am glad that the challenge meant that I finally read this story – I shall pass my paperback on to Oxfam in the hope that someone else will enjoy it as much as I did.