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The Woman in White is an epistolary novel written by Wilkie Collins in 1859, serialized in 1859-1860, and first published in book form in 1860. It is considered to be to the first mystery novel, and is widely regarded as one of the first (and finest) in the genre of 'sensation novels'.
The story
The story begins when the hero, art master Walter Hartright, encounters a mysterious woman dressed all in white on a moonlit road in Hampstead. She is in a state of confusion and distress, and Hartright helps her to find her way back to London. In return, she warns him against a certain (un-named) Baronet, "a man of rank and title". Immediately after they part, Hartright learns that she may have escaped from an asylum.
He goes to Cumberland to take up a position as art tutor at Limmeridge House to two young women - Marian Halcombe and her wealthy half-sister Laura Fairlie. He finds to his amazement that the story of the woman in white may be entangled with the lives of the two sisters. As a further complication, Walter and Laura fall rapidly in love. But she is already engaged, by her father's wish, to a man named Sir Percival Glyde.
Walter and Marian together delve deeper into the mystery of the strange woman, and engage in a battle of wits with Glyde's enigmatic Italian friend Count Fosco.
Discussion
The various strands of the plot combine to produce a thrilling story, leading this particular type of fiction to be described as 'sensation'.
The Woman In White is also an early example of a particular type of Collins narrative in which several characters in turn take up the telling of the story. This creates a complex web in which readers are unsure which narrator can, and cannot, be trusted. Collins used this technique in his other novels, including The Moonstone. This technique was copied by other novelists, including Bram Stoker, author of Dracula (1897), although by the end of the 19th century the technique was considered "old fashioned".
As was customary at that time, The Woman in White was first published as a magazine serial. The first episode appeared on 29th November 1859 in Charles Dickens's magazine All the Year Round in England, and Harper's Magazine in America. It caused an immediate sensation. Julian Symons (in his 1974 Introduction to the Penguin edition) reports that "queues formed outside the offices to buy the next instalment. Bonnets, perfumes, waltzes and quadrilles were called by the book's title. Gladstone cancelled a theatre engagement to go on reading it. And Prince Albert sent a copy to Baron Stockmar."
Film, Television, and musical theatre adaptations
- 2004 Andrew Lloyd Webber stage musical The Woman in White
There have been at least 7 adaptations for film and television:
- 1997 BBC miniseries adapted by David Pirie starring Andrew Lincoln as Walter Hartright and Tara Fitzgerald as Marian Halcombe; also broadcast on PBS television in 1998
- 1982 BBC miniseries adapted by Ray Jenkins starring Daniel Gerroll as Walter Hartright and Diana Quick as Marian Halcombe
- 1948 Hollywood film adapted by Stephen Morehouse Avery starring Gig Young as Walter Hartright and Alexis Smith as Marian Halcombe
- 1929 British silent film adapted by Robert Cullen starring Haddon Mason as Walter Hartright and Louise Prussing as Marian Halcombe
- 1917 Hollywood silent film
- 1912 Hollywood silent film
- 1912 Hollywood silent film
External link
"The Woman in White (novel)"