Other editions of book The Woman in White: By Wilkie Collins : Illustrated

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 among the first mystery novels and is widely regarded as one of the first (and finest) in the genre of 'sensation novels'. As was customary at that time, The Woman in White was first published as a magazine serial. The first episode appeared on 29 November 1859, following Charles Dickens's own A Tale of Two Cities in 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."

Engaged as a drawing master to the beautiful Laura Fairlie, Walter Hartright is drawn into the sinister intrigues of Sir Percival Glyde and his 'charming' friend Count Fosco, who has a taste for white mice, vanilla bonbons and poison. Pursuing questions of identity and insanity along the paths and corridors of English country houses and the madhouse, "The Woman in White" is the first and most influential of the Victorian genre that combined Gothic horror with psychological realism.

The Woman in White is credited with being the first of the sensation novels, and one of the finest examples of the genre. A young woman's husband defrauds her of her fortune, her identity and eventually her sanity. She is saved by her sister and a loyal man who loves her, and her two rescuers attempt to expose her husband. They meet a woman dressed all in white whose fate seems curiously intertwined with that of the young woman. In the tradition of the sensation novel, the story contravenes boundaries of class, identity and the private and public spheres.

Do you enjoy classic literature in easy-to-carry paperback? Then you'll love The Woman in White by Wilkie Collins! This mystery novel is considered by some critics to be in the top 100 greatest novels of all time. Perhaps you read The Woman in White in school as a youth or maybe this is your first time reading Wilkie Collins's masterpiece or maybe you're a teacher buying the book for your children's literature class. Either way, enjoy Wilkie Collins's The Woman in White book today!

Who is the mysterious solitary woman dressed in white who accosts Walter Hartright late one night near London's Hampstead Heath? Why does she bear such an uncanny resemblance to Walter's student, the angelic Laura Fairlie? And what is the closely guarded secret that she claims will confound a sinister nobleman's malevolent plan? With its compelling blend of mistaken identities, wrongful imprisonment, madness, and romance, this riveting story was the prototype for a new genre of fiction, the "sensation novel." A forerunner of modern detective and suspense fiction, it transplanted the thrills of Gothic horror tales from the chambers and dungeons of medieval castles to the everyday reality of suburban drawing rooms and boudoirs. Author Wilkie Collins excelled at devising cliffhangers that kept Victorians eager for the next installment of The Woman in White which appeared serially in Charles Dickens' weekly literary publication, All the Year Round. This much-imitated, enduringly suspenseful tale has continued to enthrall readers ever since.

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One of the greatest mystery thrillers ever written, Wilkie Collins's The Woman in White was a phenomenal bestseller in the 1860s, achieving even greater success than works by Charles Dickens. Full of surprise, intrigue, and suspense, this vastly entertaining novel continues to enthrall audiences today. 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. Masterfully constructed, The Woman in White is dominated by two of the finest creations in all Victorian fiction-Marion Halcombe, dark, mannish, yet irresistibly fascinating, and Count Fosco, the sinister and flamboyant "Napoleon of Crime."