Adina ( back from Vacay…slowly recovering) 's Reviews > The Woman in White

Too bloody long and overwritten. It sort of took away the tension and mystery.

I've wanted to read this for a long time, ever since I've ofunds out that Fingersmith by Sarah Waters was inspired by this novel. I can see the resemblance but they are different in many aspects.

The Woman in White is a serialised novel, which means it appeared first in many numbers of a literary magazine. The one owned by Charles Dickens, to be precise. The aim was to fill as many editions as possible so most of these novels tend to be on the longer side. Great Expectations is another example of these books but I loved that one. I lost my patience here, probably because it is written as a series of testimonials from different people. I saw this tactic used in many classics, with more or less successful results. This should have been a good one but I admit I got bored midway through.

Walter Hartright is employed as a drawing master to the beautiful Laura Fairlie. On the road to his employer he meets a mysterious Woman in White. He helps her get a cab and then continues on his way. There he falls in love with Laura, who is promised to Sir Percival Glyde. When Laura and her sister got to live in Glyde's estate, things become very dire and strange for the two women. Wilkie Collins is said to be the first author to combine Gothic horror with psychological realism. I thought the plot to be very well woven, and it would have gotten 5* from me ,were it 150 pages shorter. The way the author wrote a phrase tired me many time, I have to admit. It made me think of those houses that have too many ornaments.