The Woman in White: Wilkie Collins

This book is one of the first sensation novels. First published in 1859, it tells the story of a young woman  (Laura Fairlie) who marries unwisely and the man (Walter Hartright) who loves her and tries to rescue her from the clutches of an evil man.

First sentence:

This is the story of what a Woman's patience can endure, and what a Man's resolution can achieve.

And a few paragraphs later, the author tells us how the story will be told:

When the writer of these introductory lines (Walter Hartright by name) happens to be more closely connected than others with the incidents to be recorded, he will describe them in his own person. When his experience fails, he will retire from the position of narrator; and his task will be continued, from the point at which he has left it off, by other persons who can speak to the circumstances under notice from their own knowledge, just as clearly and positively as he has spoken before them.

Thus, the story here presented will be told by more than one pen, as the story of an offence against the laws is told in Court by more than one witness...

Walter Hartwright is seeking a job, and his good friend Pesco suggests a position that will fit him perfectly – drawing instructor to two young women. He seeks and gets this position. The two women he will be tutoring are half-sisters, Laura Fairlie and Marian Halcombe; they live with Frederick Fairlie, Laura's uncle and owner of Limmeridge House in Cumberlands.

One night before he leaves for his new position, Walter meets a mysterious woman in white who has a strange connection to Limmeridge House.  Once he arrives at his new home, he seeks more information about this woman, with little initial success.

That is the set up for the story and I did not even know that much when I started reading the book. I liked going into the story with little knowledge, so I will not elaborate on the plot any further.

I enjoyed this novel, very much more than I expected to. I had resisted reading The Woman in White for years. Even though it is a well-known crime fiction classic, I did not think I would enjoy the old-fashioned story (how wrong I was!). Even then I might have tried it if it had not been so long (in various editions, 600-700 pages).  Finally I overcame my prejudice when Judith at Reading in the Wilderness blogged about how much she enjoyed it.

As noted above, the story is told from various points of view, and that includes some incidents described in diary entries. I liked that approach. William Hartright starts out the tale and is one of the major players, but at times he is only on the fringes of the story.

My favorite character was Count Fosco, an Italian man with a mysterious past, and a close associate of Laura Fairlie's fiancé. Marian Halcombe is a very strong character, determined and loyal. I really hated Laura's uncle, Frederick Fairlie, who lived in his own private world and cared only for his own wants and needs. The author was successful at evoking strong reactions to the characters and their actions.

I liked the edition that I read, published by The Modern Library. There was an introduction by Anne Perry, which I read after I finished the book. The notes by Chris Willis were very useful to me.


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Publisher:   Modern Library, 2002 (orig. pub. 1859)
Length:      643 pages
Format:      Trade Paperback
Setting:      England
Genre:       Classic Mystery; Sensation novel
Source:      I purchased my copy.

Reading Summary for April 2019

In April, all my reading was related to the crime fiction genre. One non-fiction book about Scandinavian crime fiction. Of the fiction books, four were published between 1985 and 2002, so nothing very recent. One book published before 1900, and two books published in the 1930's.

Mystery reference

Death in a Cold Climate: A Guide to Scandinavian Crime Fiction (2012)
by Barry Forshaw

The book covers the authors thoughts about crime fiction authors whose books have been translated to English from these countries: Sweden, Norway, Iceland, Denmark, and Finland. Sweden gets the most coverage and I suppose that reflects that more Swedish authors have been translated. Most of the coverage is for current authors, although earlier translated works by Maj Sjöwall and Per Wahlöö are discussed. No way to give a good overview of this in one paragraph. I will read any book on mystery reference, and I learned a lot from this one.

Crime Fiction

The Shortest Way to Hades (1985) by Sarah Caudwell

The Hilary Tamar series centers around a group of young barristers who often seek Hilary's help when they run into trouble. This is book 2 in the series. See my review here.

Tarnished Icons (1997) by Stuart Kaminsky

This is the eleventh novel in Stuart Kaminsky's Inspector Porfiry Rostnikov series, set in Russia in the late 1990's. The prolific Kaminsky is one of my favorite authors. See my review here.

Save the Last Dance for Me (2002) by Ed Gorman

This entertaining and nostalgic book takes us back to the summer of 1960, when John F. Kennedy and Richard Nixon were running for President. It is the fourth of ten books starring Sam McCain, a young and not very successful lawyer in Black River Falls, Iowa. In need of money, he often works as an investigator for District Judge Esme Anne Whitney, who is rich and influential in their community. As the book begins, McCain is attending a religious service with the local newspaper reporter, Kiley Burke. Unforturnately, the Reverend John Muldaur is poisoned and dies during the service. Judge Whitney wants the crime solved quickly because Nixon will be visiting the town and she will be hosting an event in his honor. 

Free Reign (1997) by Rosemary Aubert

Set in Canada. The unusual protagonist of this story is a homeless man who was once a judge, high in Toronto society. At the point that the book begins, Ellis Portal is about 50 years old and has been homeless for five years, living in a homemade shelter in a ravine in Toronto. See my review here.

The Woman in White (1859) by Wilkie Collins

I had resisted reading this book for years. Even though it a well-known crime fiction classic, I did not think I would enjoy the old-fashioned story (how wrong I was!). Even then I might have tried it if it had not been so long (600-700 pages).  Finally I overcame my prejudice when Judith at Reading in the Wilderness blogged about how much she enjoyed it.

This book is one of the first sensation novels.  It tells the story of a young woman who marries unwisely and the man who loves her and tries to rescue her from the clutches of an evil. It has multiple narrators, which I really like. William Hartright, a young drawing teacher, starts out the story and is one of the major players, but at times he is only on the fringes of the story.

Death Sends a Cable (1938) by Margaret Tayler Yates

Anne Davenport McLean, better known as "Davvie", is a Navy officer's wife who is living in Guantanamo Bay in Cuba. Her husband is a doctor; she is an ex-Navy nurse. Recently a young officer on the base has committed suicide; both his wife and Davvie insist that the death was not suicide. Eventually his death is investigated and that leads to other crimes and discoveries. This was the second book by Margaret Taylor Yates in a four book series featuring Davvie as the sleuth. John Norris introduced me to this book at his blog, Pretty Sinister Books, and kindly offered to send me his copy to read. I enjoyed the book, both the mystery and the picture of life in the Navy in this time period. A post with more of my thoughts on the book will follow soon.

Cards on the Table (1936) by Agatha Christie

This is another Christie novel with a different approach. A strange and somewhat disconcerting man, Mr. Shaitana, has invited Hercule Poirot to dinner. When he arrives, he learns that three other sleuths have been invited: Colonel Race, Superintendent Battle and Ariadne Oliver. (Mrs. Oliver is actually a mystery writer, but in this case she tries her hand at detecting.)  After dinner, two foursomes play bridge. At one table are the sleuths, the remaining four guests play at the other table. During the bridge game, some one dies. This was the first appearance of Mrs. Oliver and I enjoyed meeting her. I always love it when Colonel Race shows up. So this was a fun read for me.