Well, I finally did it, I finished The Woman in White by Wilkie Collins on Friday evening. I finished it as it should be finished, in flannel pajamas, under warm blankets in bed with a cat curled up against you and a spouse intent on his/her own book beside you. It was glorious.
This is such a rollicking fun book told in so many different voices I don’t know what to say about it. Collins is excellent at building suspense even when you know what’s coming. He pulls out all the stops in this book and tosses in every mystery/thriller/suspense/Victorian device except for the kitchen sink. We have plenty of people who are not what they seem, a marvelous villain in the form of a very fat and seemingly benign Count Fosco, a mad woman, a pure and blameless lady, a lady who is as quick witted and admirable as a man (and of course must always be a spinster because of it), a selfish head of the family who worries only about his own poor nerves and so allows unspeakable events to occur, and a hero in love with and in the service of the pure and blameless lady who can never hope to marry her but nonetheless puts his life on the line to see that justice is served.
Collins is a curious mix of the conventional and the unconventional. I think he says quite a lot of interesting things regarding the status of women in Victorian society. Jodie at Book Gazing recently posted a review of Woman in White as part of the Classics Circuit Wilkie Collins blog tour where she discusses Collins and women so hop over there for that interesting conversation.
I found one incident in the book rather troubling. Marian Halcombe, sister of the pure and blameless Lady Laura Fairlie Glyde, in the depths of despair, has a prophetic dream about our hero Walter Hartright who, for the middle chunk of the book is away in the jungles of South America. She “dreams” her way through the perils of his time away right up to his return to England and his standing beside a grave and the appearance of a veiled woman in white. I’m not certain what the whole point of this dream was unless Collins felt like he needed to reassure his readers that Walter was ok and was going to return to the story eventually. The dream stands out because there is nothing else like it in the entire book and Marian seems the most unlikely candidate to have had such a dream. But the Victorians loved the supernatural so perhaps Collins did indeed throw in the kitchen sink.
I couldn’t help thinking of Dudely Do-Right while reading this book. Walter Hartright isn’t quite as clueless as Dudely, but his heart is always in the right place and even when it would be in his self-interest to look the other way, his moral scruples run too deeply for his own personal safety. But then, of course, because he allows himself to be ruled by his morals and leaves fate and judgment up to God, he comes out on top and the villains all get their comeuppance; no string is left untied.
This was my first Wilkie Collins book and I enjoyed it so much it definitely will not be my last!
I’m glad you liked this one so much and plan to read more of Collins. I would love to read more myself. He’s just so fun. I’m very glad to have discovered Victorian sensational fiction — Elizabeth Braddon is another good one with her book Lady Audley’s Secret.
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Glad you enjoyed your first Wilkie Collins. I have had The Woman in White on my TBR shelf for a few months but haven’t gotten around to reading it. I have yet to crack open my first Collins book but your review certainly wets my appetite for it.
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This book has been sitting unfinished on my shelf for longer than I care to think about. You’ve inspired me to get back and finish it!
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Interesting about the dream. I read and loved the Woman in White years ago but had completely forgotten about the dream. The really interesting thing about it is that Armadale, which Jenny and I just read, included a prophetic dream that seemed out of place to me.
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Isn’t Wilkie Collins great? He knows how to tell such an exciting story yet also say something about society as well. I’ve loved all the books I’ve read by him and am happy to hear you will be reading more. My favorite is Armadale with The Woman in White coming in a close second. Maybe I should add this one to my vacation pile as a reread…
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You know, I don’t even remember the dream — just went in one ear and out the other (I listened to the audio). but that is a good point. I’m reading a bio of Collins and it seems he often wrote according to what the audience wanted. So your guess is probably right– that he knew he needed a little supernatural in there and that was his choice.
I too really enjoyed this book! Thanks for sharing your thoughts too.
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I loved this and “The Moonstone”. it may well be that marian’s dream was a device to remind the reader of Hartwright’s existence as the book was not completely written before it was printed in serial form.
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For years I was the only one I knew who read anything by Wilkie Collins. I fell in love with his writing almost 2 decades ago, when the now defunct The Common Reader was still in publication. Last year I read the first chapter of “The Haunted Hotel” on line, and drove straight to the bookstore to buy the book, I was so grabbed by it. I’m so happy you enjoyed Woman in White.
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Wonderful! I’m so happy to hear you enjoyed “Woman in White.” I’m reading “No Name” right now and enjoying it immensely. At this point, I’m pretty sure I like it more than “Moonstone,” which is Collins’ better-known book. The writing is excellent.
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I keep intending to read this, but other books keep popping up in the way! glad to hear it got such a wonderful review. I’m in a weird reading phase at the moment, can’t quite settle into anything yet…
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You make me want to read this again! I read it first aged 17 and didn’t appreciate it quite as I wanted to. I should pick it up. But then I’d also like to read Armadale and The Law and the Lady. You know how it is… the thought of one tempting book leads to the thought of another 15……
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I loved reading this! You are right, he doesn’t miss anything does he? I absolutely loved Marian’s character and now I’m curious if his other books feature any women like her. I’m definitely planning to read more by him but may save that for next year as I’m not quite in the mood for a chunkster right now š
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See Dan Simmons’ “Drood” where a fictional Wilkie is the novel’s narrator.
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Thanks for linking to me! Haha Marian is so Dudley Do Right I think, with her ‘the Count has done something quite evil seeming, but I am sure it is just my weak prejudicial heart getting in the way again and I will try to be more fair to him’. Most of the time I wanted to tell her that she was right and should trust to her instincts.
That sounds like a lovely way to finish the book by the way, flannel pjs are the best.
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You should consider Moonstone next by Collins – another masterpiece!
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I am most definitely going to get to this one sooner rather than later, after enjoying my reread of The Moonstone so much and now having read your post. Maybe you should put The Moonstone on your TBR challenge list, and I should put this one on mine? Then again, maybe not. I HAVE read this one, and I’m trying not to put rereads on my list.
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