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Jan 14, 2012

karen rated it:

this is a weighty relic of a book. it's pretty enjoyable, just don't expect any surprises, unless you have missed the last 20 years of police procedurals on the television set. i'm sure in its day it was chock full of surprises, but i have to shudder at the contrivance of characters talking aloud to themselves while unknown to them, people hide in cupboards or whatnot, overhearing exactly the information they are most desirous of. it does make me yearn for these times when it seems pulling a con More...

2 comments like (47 people liked it)

Feb 15, 2011

Choupette rated it:

There has always been something standing between me and 'classic' fiction. I'm not going to bother going into a definition of 'classic' because the idea makes my head hurt, but I'm referring here to Austen, Tolstoy, Bronte, Hardy, Dostoevsky and pretty much everything else I've read that was written before 1900.

There are, I think, two reasons for this: firstly, the excessive wordiness with which everything is written. It's like I can't get through to the essence of the writing, to it More...

29 comments like (57 people liked it)

Nov 11, 2011

Sandybanks rated it:

Beware of spoilers!

What I learned from this book (in no particular order) :

1. Italians are excitable, dedicated to the opera, and most likely to be involved with organized crime.

2. Beware of fat, jolly Italian counts with submissive wives and fondness of white mice and canaries.

3. Watch out if your newly wed husband lives in a stately pile with an abandoned wing full of creepy Elizabethan furniture. If the said ancestral house is surrounded b More...

31 comments like (30 people liked it)

Aug 04, 2011

Amanda rated it:

This book is fantastic. Anyone who says classics are dull has never read this! The Woman in White is a mystery, specifically the mystery of a woman…er, a woman in white. Also known as Anne Catherick. Is she a madwoman? Or a victim of foul play? The mystery goes beyond Anne, though, and victim or madwoman, she becomes the key to unraveling a whole host of deceptions involving identity theft, forgery, monetary theft, and possible murder. Every intrigue possible is touched on in this book. It’s too More...

1 comment like (16 people liked it)

Oct 06, 2011

Alex rated it:

I've never liked the term "butterface." I don't object to the objectification; I just don't like the sound of it. Nonetheless, it unavoidably popped into my head at my introduction from behind to Miss Halcombe, as Collins allows Hartright to ogle "the rare beauty of her form...[and] her waist, perfection to the eyes of a man, for it occupied its natural place...visibly and delightfully undeformed by stays*," before she turns and he's horrified by the revelation that "The More...

18 comments like (10 people liked it)

Oct 27, 2011

TJ rated it:

This book is an amazing teaching tool. Not because it conveys any great lessons in life or exhibits profound understanding and insight but because it so clearly delineates the beauty and differences in 19th century writing and 21st century writing.

The story is definitely very gothic and one of the best mysteries available. It is in the length of the story - most especially the length of the writing that will probably cause many readers to balk. The descriptions, the conversations, More...

21 comments like (10 people liked it)

Jul 07, 2008

Shan rated it:

I haven't quite finished Wilkie Collins' brilliant 19th century novel, "The Woman In White," but I had to go ahead and start my review to say that I am thrilled with it. I picked it up from the shelf because it was in the mystery section of my local bookstore, and I took it home because Collins had me on the first page.

Having its origination as a 19th century serial novel, "The Woman In White" is written in first person; in fact, it is actually a modified episto More...

3 comments like (19 people liked it)

Mar 19, 2011

Kate rated it:

Although I've read in several places that Collins's main career achievement was essentially to invent the modern detective story in The Moonstone, I found The Woman in White by far the superior of the two novels. (In fairness, people don't generally fall over themselves in praise for The Moonstone as a novel so much as for depicting a new kind of sleuth.) This book is wonderfully written. Collins uses different narrators - perhaps eight altogether, but two or three main ones - and while he ca More...

2 comments like (6 people liked it)

Jun 25, 2008

Scott rated it:

A paradigm of thrilling Victorian melodrama, Wilkie Collins' The Woman in White (1860) is an engrossing read whose 600 pages captivated me over a long weekend. Haunting dreams, telling names, insane asylums, poisonings, spy rings, illness, kidnappings, and all the other trappings of gothic fiction are threads in a convoluted plot that requires the statements and confessions of half a dozen witnesses to untangle. The labyrinthine, often redundant narrative -- a test, sometimes, of what a Reader's More...

3 comments like (7 people liked it)

Apr 17, 2008

Virginia rated it:

My friend Nora Ephron suggested i read this. Okay, I don't know her, but I feel like she'd be a friend. Therefore I honored her recommendations.

In her collection of essays "I Feel Bad about my Neck," she includes a bit about books that have completely transported her. She says it better than I do about this wonderful mystery:

"I open Wilkie Collins's masterpiece, The Woman in White, probably the first great work of mystery fiction ever written (although More...

7 comments like (14 people liked it)

Dec 16, 2009

Rebecca rated it:

The sensation yarn of the 19th C. Quivering heroines 'n' moustache twirling villainy. Larks include gender subversion 'n' narrative innovation. Identity theft labourious endeavour pre digital age. A modern reimagining would be brief.

Ironically, have been on phone to passport office today. Mine's missing. Somewhere an Oompah Loompah is manoeuvring under my name.

*infiltrates factory*

21 comments like (6 people liked it)

Jan 12, 2012

Lynette rated it:

Wow. This is supposed to be a classic mystery? The Woman in White was one of the most boring books I've ever read, and I've read a LOT of Victorian books. The plot is seriously that a woman marries a man she doesn't want to marry, and he stages her death to collect her fortune. YAWN. Am I supposed to be impressed that she followed through with her word to her father and married Sir Percival, even though she loved Walter? Nothing interesting happens for about 400 pages, something slightly in More...

0 comments like (2 people liked it)

Jun 10, 2011

Hannah rated it:

Woah. I'm shocked that this book doesn't have more ratings here, because truely, it is a masterpiece that any fans of Charles Dickens, Agatha Christie, andCharlotte Brontë must read. I'll admit to being wary when it comes to mystery novels. The only few I can tend to handle without shrieking are Agatha Christie, and even then I can tell my nerves aren't in check. Yet, what is it about The Woman in White? What is it about this book that can be all at once painfully perfect, and yet overwhelmingly More...

0 comments like (4 people liked it)

Sep 26, 2007

Maria rated it:

I read this as a teen and loved it. Since I didn't rememeber a thing from the book except one short paragraph from the opera scene, it was time to reread.

What to say? I really liked it, despite my many, many problems with the text. I'm happy to report that the rampant sexism of the first third of the book or so eventually dies down, and you learn to ignore the useless Laura Fairlie in favour of Fosco and Marian and, above all, the mystery.

I know a common criticism of the More...

0 comments like (5 people liked it)

Jul 19, 2007

Sarah rated it:

I've not had a very successful run of book reading recently. I suppose after having so many page turners in a row, I was bound to hit some books that didn't entertain me or engage me. The Woman in White, a novel beloved my many, didn't do much for me. In fact, it earns its placement in a very short list of novels I haven't been inspired to finish reading.

The Woman in White with its epistolary narrative is reminiscent of Bleak House (1852) and shares many of the same flaws. Both are More...

0 comments like (5 people liked it)

Feb 20, 2009

Sarah rated it:

This book is the greatest mystery story I've ever read! The character development is superb and the story is absolutely captivating! I could not put it down for the life of me (apologies to my hubby for the house going to pot while I read it). Published in 1860 and the author considered to be the father of all English mystery novels, it is still a great mystery by today's standards. I think it is a much more intelligent mystery than many modern day novels. A true classic and one that you wi More...

2 comments like (4 people liked it)

Nov 20, 2008

Rachelle rated it:

Loved, loved, LOVED this book. It's definitely in my top 5 for all time! I would love to hear from anyone else who has also read this. Not sure how I've missed knowing about it for so long - and I'm really gonna miss it!

Soooo, it's a 'classic' - written in the greatest time period ever (1850) and comparable to reading a really long Austen novel with a dark, suspenseful twist. Can you beat that?

I would recommend this to anyone who loves to read - savor and enjoy it!

3 comments like (8 people liked it)

Mar 13, 2010

Alison rated it:

*Here be spoilers.*

Collins wrote in the preface to this book, "It may be possible in novel-writing to present characters successfully without telling a story; but it is not possible to tell a story successfully without presenting characters: their existence, as recognisable realities, being the sole condition on which the story can be effectively told. The only narrative which can hope to lay a strong hold on the attention of readers is a narrative which interests them about m

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0 comments like (3 people liked it)

Feb 06, 2010

Jason rated it:

DON'T READ THIS BOOK, unless you've got the patience, stamina, and requisite taste for a quintessential mid-Victorian novel. If you don't, you'll think The Woman in White is terribly overwrought and 500 pages too long. If you like Victorian writing, you'll think this is a well-drawn, balanced novel with characters to root for, characters to despise, a twisting plot that rolls up seamlessly, and narrated ingeniously from multiple points of view. If you're unsure whether you like or dislike Vic More...

8 comments like (13 people liked it)

Nov 12, 2010

Stephanie rated it:

Possible spoilers. Maybe? I don't know what you consider spoilers, so read at your own risk!

Random thoughts about The Woman in White, by Wilkie Collins:

Count Fosco is a villain I loved to hate. He’s so delightfully devious. And he would have gotten away with it, too, if it hadn’t been for those meddling kids...er, I mean his one Fatal Flaw. I’d like to say more, but I don’t want to ruin anything for you.

Then there’s Marian. What a heroine! She’s always protest More...

2 comments like (1 person liked it)

Jan 21, 2009

Kristi rated it:

I couldn't put this book down. I think I'll have to take a break from reading and reaquaint myself with my family, now.
At first, I thought I might never get through the book, struggling with the language, but after about 6 pages, I found otherwise! :) Collins is true to his characters; while it is by no means predictable, the characters always act within their descriptions and each new action is revealing, rather than contradictory. Does that make sense? Marian is wonderful, Fosco is More...

2 comments like (1 person liked it)

Oct 25, 2011

Marialyce rated it:

Perfect, perfect, perfect, in every way. So sad to see this book end, but it was truly wonderful and moved in all the right directions for suspense, for revealing the sinister nature that is inherent in some people, and the joy that happens when right makes right. Such an enjoyable novel written for thoe of us who love mystery, gothic horror, and excellent writing.

I am sure that this is one of those books that will never lose its allure. They story, although written for a Victorian aud More...

3 comments like (3 people liked it)

Apr 03, 2009

Cindy rated it:

Five stars not versus anything at any time, but for what it was at the time. Great characters and a well drawn mystery in 1860, before others were doing it. Fascinating to watch the plot unfurl using the tracking and deducing of the time -- diaries, letters, eavesdropping, following on foot and attacks in the road. The British post and rail system were awesome! And so were servants.

Collins does a great job with characters -- very believable and he captures different voices and uses More...

3 comments like (2 people liked it)

Dec 12, 2011

Cami rated it:

Intrigue, mystery, romance, matched with beautifully crafted & interesting characters and plus an exciting page-turning plot all makes for one of my favorite books to date. Seriously...amazing! This was the first book to make me laugh & cry. I fell in love with Walter Hartright - never have I read of such a gentleman-like character. Marian Halcombe is a brilliant light of unique wit & strength with a dash of common woman intuition and emotion. I was impressed by the depth each character possesse More...

4 comments like (1 person liked it)

Jul 01, 2011

Kate Mc. rated it:

Five stars for gothic Victorian literature? I amaze myself. I'm sure it was Marian Halcombe and Count Fosco peering over my shoulder and demanding recognition. They are both characters you would expect to be relegated to the background in this kind of period novel; the aggressively assertive and opinionated female and the unctuous Italian count. They should be easily recognized as the "good hearted spinster" and the "evil villain", and take their respective places as card More...

7 comments like (1 person liked it)

Jan 21, 2012

Dolly rated it:

Before I get into my review, I have to say that I don't know if I've ever seen so many notes before the story begins as there are in this book. There's a Biographical Note about Wilkie Collins, an Introduction by Anne Perry, and not one, but two Prefaces to the story. And while that all only comprises a mere 26 pages of reading before I got to the story, it certainly made me anticipate the tale even more than I already did.

Now that I'm almost half-way through the book, I have to More...

1 comment like (3 people liked it)

Aug 19, 2011

Shellie (Layers of Thought) rated it:

3.5 stars actually

About the book: Set near London around the mid-1800’s, an artist is traveling to his latest work assignment. On his way he sees a disturbing woman in white on the highway. He attempts to help her but is mystified when she disappears. Her connection with his life becomes apparent over time after he arrives at his destination. There he falls in love with one of the nieces of the household owner. She however is to be married shortly to a man who appear less th More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Mar 26, 2010

Lobstergirl rated it:

There is so much gender bending going on in this novel - Laura Fairlie is frail, gentle, and pretty, her half-sister Marian tough, ugly, opinionated, cries "men's tears," has huge man-hands and is virtually moustachioed - and they kiss each other often enough on the lips, that you could be forgiven for thinking they are a couple, and Sir Percival Glyde is Laura's beard. My image of Marian fell somewhere between Frieda Kahlo and Tom Selleck - yep, this is about right:

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3 comments like (4 people liked it)

Nov 03, 2008

bookyeti rated it:

Collins’ most captivating oeuvre

A master craftsman of timeless classics that still garner accolades today, Wilkie Collins’ brilliance was often eclipsed by the illustriousness of his well-known contemporary, Charles Dickens. Fortunately Collins’ literary tour de force can still be enjoyed and appreciated today.

The Woman In White is unquestionably one of his best works — a superbly written, gripping gothic mystery that will enthrall Victorian lit and ‘whodunit’ lovers alik More...

0 comments like (3 people liked it)

Nov 11, 2008

Jennifer rated it:

So the main female character has the mental function of a six year old and her sister, who is smart, is described as male in her personality and is basically unmarriagable (obvs!), but it's still a good read. Besides, it's quaint Victorian England, so what do you expect.
This was my first Wilkie Collins melodrama and I was totally sucked in for the first two-thirds. It reminds me a lot of Rebecca.
The plot is anything but simple, but at its most basic level Sir Percival Glyde marries More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

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