Have you ever been interested to read a Victorian era "classic" but never got around to it because you are concerned that you may not be able to relate? This is the book for you.

If they had airports in the Victorian era this book would be a common sight. I mean this in a complimentary way, not equating Wilkie Collins with modern day blockbusting purveyors of crap like Stephenie Meyer or Dan Brown. This is an edge of the seat thriller that will soon have you forgetting that you reading something written over a century ago. The Woman in White is one of the earliest works of detective fiction and predates Conan Doyle's Sherlock Holmes by decades.

The Woman in White is not actually about the titular lady with her predilection for colorless attires, though she plays a significant part. The story is about two sisters (stop rolling your eyes back there! this is cool!) one beautiful, kind and vulnerable (OK, she is a bit lame) and the other not so pretty but tough as nails and sharp as a tack. Laura Fairlie (the pretty one) with her excessive niceness is ripe for exploitation and the dastardly handsome Sir Percival Glyde (to whom she is pledged) does not hesitate to do so at the first opportunity. To make matters worse he is aided and abetted by a smooth talking ingenious villain Count Fosco. At this point special mention must be made for two favorite characters from the opposite ends of the moral spectrum. Count Fosco must be one of the most formidable villains in literature, but what make him particularly interesting is his charm, humor, eccentricity and moments of goodness. Fortunately Laura has her own WMD in her half-sister Marian Halcombe, a totally badass Victorian lady who centuries later probably reincarnated as Ellen Ripley. Marian's strong character and resolution really shines through, she comes across as much more heroic than the novel's hero, Walter Hartright who is rather bland and almost useless.

Wilkie Collins has performed an amazing feat of character development in this book, Marian Halcombe and Count Fosco are so vivid they practically jump out of the book at you, you may want to stand well back while reading the book as a precaution. The plot twists and turns in unexpected manners and the final resolution is deeply satisfying. No lover of mystery novels should miss this classic. Beautifully written with very strong characterization, the Woman in White is more than a match to any modern day thriller.

Read this and the equally fabulous The Moonstone by the same author then brag about it to everybody until they start throwing things at you.

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.

This Wilkie Collins classic, written in 1860, is a multi-layered mystery written with elaborately defined detail resulting in some pretty amazing and memorable characters. The beginning of the story really grabs your attention with the suspicious appearance, in the dead of night, of the mysterious Woman in White and keeps you anxious to find out the reason for her distress throughout the book.

This novel was not quite what I expected (no ghosts) and required dedication on my part bc I wanted to know "the secrets" at a faster pace, but as I kept reading, it became obvious the author's intent was to keep the reader in suspense questioning bizarre actions and wondering who to trust while searching for motives and the truth.

A bit of romance, a multitude of lies, scheming of the most evil kind and even a few laughs (the neurotic Mr. Fairlie) is what you will find in this slow building complex tale. Another great classic!

In many ways this is an unusual read for me. A mystery: I read very few of these, although I did just recently finish up all of the Sherlock Holmes stories. A novel from the Victorian age: I should read more from that time period. A novel by Wilkie Collins: my first, but I think not my last. A Woman in White is proof of the value I get from Goodreads. It found its way to my “to read” list because of the reviews of some Goodreads friends, described as a mystery that is enjoyable even to those that don’t typically read mysteries.

A Woman in White was one of those easy reading pleasures. While it was slow in starting and slow in places, the characters became as rich in detail as any friends in real life and the plot revealed itself slowly and enticingly. This novel continually invited me back like a fall day that encourages you to spend the entire day outside.

I listened to this on Audible. There are actually several different recordings of A Woman in White available through Audible. I listened to one in which different actors played the various characters. This was very effective as Wilkie Collins uses different narrators throughout the novel, an approach that I think he uses in some of his other novels.

I imagine Wilkie Collins would be quite content to know that his novels bring so much pleasure these many years after writing them. I think I would be.

2 months and I’ve finally finished this. I was skim reading by the end though...

“There, 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.”

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’s 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’s 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.

Πολύ πολύ καλό, με υπέροχη γραφή και ωραία ατμόσφαιρα στην Αγγλία του 1850!

Δύο αρνητικά για μένα...
Ένα ο όγκος του, πιστεύω ότι θα μπορούσε να παραλήψει αρκετά πράγματα και να ήταν μικρότερο, αν και την εποχή που εκδόθηκε έβγαινε σε συνέχειες οπότε αν ζούσα τότε θα το δικαιολογούσα!
Δεύτερον, το ότι πολλοί από τους χαρακτήρες είναι τόσο ευκολόπιστοι μπουμπούνες, που καταντάει γελοίο. Βέβαια ίσως πάλι εκείνη την εποχή να ήταν όντως τόσο ευκολόπιστοι...και μπουμπούνες!

O livro " A Mulher de Branco" assim como em "Dràcula" faz uso de vários narradores , cartas e diários para contar uma história de ganância, interesse pessoal e traição. Mostra a insanidade como um meio de exclusão social e traz à tona o assunto da desigualdade e injustiças das leis vitorianas em relação ao matrimônio. A história começa em Hampstead, onde Walter Hartwright encontra uma mulher misteriosa que está vestida de branco. O nome dela é Anne Catherick, que acaba de escapar de um manicômio . Ela também tem uma semelhança impressionante com Laura Fairlie, membro da família Limmeridge em Cumberland, onde Walter vai ensinar desenho.
Walter e Laura se apaixonam, mas Laura cumpre uma promessa feita a seu pai, antes dele morrer , de se casar com Sir Percival Glyde , que na verdade só quer a fortuna de Laura. A partir daí a linda Laura corre perigo. De um lado tentarão protegê-la;sua meia irmã Marian Halcombe,e seu amor Walter Hartwrigh. Por outro lado ela terá um inimigo de peso (literalmente) o conde fosco , além é claro do ganancioso Sir Percival Glyde.
Quem é essa mulher de branco? Que segredo esconde
Sir Percival Glyde e o Conde Fosco. ?

Eis algumas curiosidades sobre o livro e o autor.
1- A heroína de Collins, Marian Halcombe, é um dos personagens mais inteligentes e corajosos da literatura mundial. Ela é respeitada e adorada por todos que a conhecem, ela não é bonita, e nosso vilão está apaixonado por ela.
2 - O livro foi originalmente publicado em uma revista literária semanal chamada All the Year Round, criada por Charles Dickens.
3- Henry James disse: “Ao Sr. Collins pertence o crédito de ter introduzido na ficção os mistérios mais misteriosos, os mistérios que estão à nossa porta”.

Enfim um livro fenomenal que nos prende até a última página.!

A buddy read on the side with the Non-crunchers – hold the pants.

Hark! This book is over 150 years old, but, still, spoilers be us.



-tSelling English by the pound.

This book has a lot going for it – 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.

-tThe woman in white



Although Collins doesn’t 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’s still on the premises – somewhere.

This book was written as a series of first person entries by a number of characters and divided into three epochs.

-tEpoch 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’ll 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.

-tEpoch the second



I love Marian Halcombe, she’s smart, she’s got spunk, she’ll stand up for her family and friends, she’s 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’t a woman, I’d cut that bitch, Countess Fosco.

If I wasn’t a woman, I’d kick Sir Perceval in the family jewels.

If I wasn’t a woman, I’d get stinking drunk and jump the gardener (or the maid).

-tEpoch the third



This is an olde type book so you won’t 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’t gotten around to this one, I’d recommend it.

Τι φοβερός τύπος που πρέπει να ήταν ο Wilkie Collins! Μποέμ, αγαπούσε τα ταξίδια, τις αισθησιακές απολαύσεις, την ελευθερία. Αγαπούσε τις γυναίκες αλλά όχι τον γάμο. Φίλος με τον Ντίκενς. Θα μου άρεσε πολύ ένα δείπνο μαζί του.

Η γυναίκα με τα άσπρα είναι ένα βιβλίο που έχει πολλά! Περιπέτεια, μυστήριο, έρωτα, συγκίνηση. Είναι συναρπαστικό! Αυτό που αγάπησα περισσότερο ήταν η δομή του. Οι χαρακτήρες εναλλάσσονται και αφηγούνται οι ίδιοι σαν να είναι μάρτυρες σε δίκη. Η πλοκή είναι συναρπαστική και το κουβάρι ξετυλίγεται και ξεμπερδεύεται σιγά-σιγά.
Απολαυστική εμπειρία. Δεν με κούρασε, παρά το μεγάλο μέγεθος. Λάτρεψα τη Μάριαν. Θα μου λείψουν όλοι οι ήρωες πάντως.
Σκέφτομαι να συνεχίσω σύντομα και με το Αρμαντέιλ. Ο Wilkie Collins είναι εθισμός.

A Literary Masterpiece

Wow! This was a real epic of a book, a Victorian detective story of the highest calibre. It took some stamina to complete the read but it was well worth the effort. Highly recommended.

It's overblown, overwrought, written in the particularly excessive Victorian style, and way longer than it could have been. But it's so fucking brilliant from start to finish that it almost hurts every time you put it down.
The birth and the epitome of the detective genre.

This was a beautifully written mystery novel, full of complications, contradictions, secrets, and drama. Although written in epistolary style using letters and written narratives by several characters, Walter is the main narrator who writes his own narratives and pulls together the narratives of others into a cohesive story.

The novel is mainly about identity but also provides some interesting commentary on gender, marriage, women's rights, and power struggles. That's a big deal for something written in the mid-1800s.

I loved it and had a lot of trouble putting it down at times. It is long, but well worth the effort to read cover to cover.