An early example of the detective novel, Wilkie Collins' The Woman In White is long, complex, exquisitely written; a delicious read. This tale of conspiracy, madness, villainy, and mistaken identity is told from the perspectives of a number of the principal actors, a diversity of voices that heightens the novel's variety and appeal.

Collins creates numerous intriguing characters, most of whose voices we hear during the unfolding of the intricate plot. Drawing-master Walter Hartright, one of the prime movers in the book, is the least interesting. He is...well, not dull...but regular. But he is the main character who drives the resolution of the mystery, and as events unfold and circumstances become more dire, he evinces a dogged determination, a fierce loyalty and tenacity.

My favorite characters, beautifully rendered by Collins, are hypochondriac Mr. Fairlie; corpulent Italian Count Fosco with his air of pompous superiority and his cage of little white mice; and the stalwart, dutiful, Marian with her acute intellect and her deep sisterly devotion.

There is one section of The Woman In White that was a bit of a drag: In a long interview between Hartright and a lawyer, novelist Collins seems to be writing himself out of some cul-de-sacs into which his plot has steered him. This section serves to clarify some matters, but also, probably inadvertently, to point out that the conspiracy plot was unnecessarily convoluted and could've been handled in a more straightforward fashion. But then, near the end of the novel, one of the villains explains why he handled things the way he did, following his ethical code, and for me at least that was a gratifying and sufficient explanation.

As expected, this novel from 1860 contains a lot of letters, a lot of conversations, and for the most part they are fascinating. There are a number of active scenes as well, my favorite being a hot one in a church and its adjacent graveyard. There's spies and an asylum, and a somewhat ghostly meeting at a crossroads. The Woman In White is filled with delectable material, an engaging and satisfying reading experience. ( )

I confess I like Count Fosco; he reminds me of Sydney Greenstreet in The Maltese Falcon and Casablanca. This is not to say that I approve of his actions. He is also the only who truly appreciates Marian Halcombe; the hero, after admiring her figure from a distance, says to himself "(with a sense of surprise which words fail me to express), The lady is ugly!" (p. 23)
This isn't the only book of Victorian times in which England is such a small world that we shouldn't be surprised that so many characters happen to meet each other by chance. ( )

The end is a bit drawn out, but all the loose ends are tied up and resolved. Quite the tale of intrigue and identity, with a number of references to the place of women in that society -- I suspect the author was a bit of a feminist in his time. Marian Halcombe is a very strong female character, even by today's standards! Collins was a contemporary of Dickens, and while this story has the saga-aspect like a Dickens book, it does not really have the long drawn out descriptions or rambling sentences of Dickens. For something written over a hundred years ago, it is actually very read-able. Just be careful you don't read too fast, or you will miss the subtleties implied in passages that are very period-typical.

It's a long read, but good.

( )

For a long time I had meant to get round to reading this classic though its length was rather daunting, but the effort has proved worthwhile, even though I found a few plot elements coming back to me while reading, from having seen a BBC adaptation some years ago which I realise now must have followed the original pretty faithfully.

The edition I picked up in a charity shop had some interesting background reading to save for after reading the story, as it contained a lot of spoilers. Among other things it explained how the book was originally serialised in Charles Dickens' weekly newspaper and was then edited for later book publication, not least because an important part of the story hinges upon a date that a particular event had occurred and the author had slipped up with that in the serial version. Even now there is supposedly a date discrepancy in an ancillary event, but it didn't stand out to me while reading. I think also that this edition possibly reinstates some elements from the original manuscript that were subsequently excised - another review on Goodreads refers to Count Fosco's many titles having been dropped from an updated version, whereas the version I read still included them.

I had heard previously that this book is regarded as an early example of what became the detective genre, its original serial publication beginning in 1859. That applies more to the later half when the hero, Walter Hartright - whose name must surely be signficant - has to launch his own investigation to try to overturn the effects of an early example of identity theft. The early part is more of a unrequited love story and an unwanted marriage. I will say no more about the plot, not wishing to leave spoilers for anyone who doesn't know about the various twists and wants to read this afresh.

Being Victorian it is melodramatic in places and also employs very convoluted prose compared to the norm nowadays. But I found that part of its enduring charm. The story could only work in the period in which it was written, given that the plight of one of the main female characters turns upon her inability to go against her dead father's wishes, but if the reader can accept all that, it is an absorbing read and an increasingly suspenseful one in the second half.

The main glory of this book is the characters - not Hartright and Laura, the central couple - but Laura's older sister, Marian Halcombe who, despite the disadvantages and barriers to women at the time, is a strong minded, courageous and intelligent person, and the larger than life Count Fosco. The only letdown is that despite her active role early on in the story, Marian is relegated to the helper and attendant of men's activities which is the lot of her gender at the period. I did wonder why she seemed to have an attack of the vapours at a very inconvenient moment when she was all that stood between her sister and great danger, when she was otherwise so forthright and energetic, but I think that could possibly be ascribed to the abilities of a certain person, who almost certainly lies later on when he asserts that he resorted to drugging only a couple of people on two occasions. I suspect it was a lot more than that and could very well account for the lassitude and other maladies affecting the sisters.

This was an absorbing read and I only lower the rating to 4 stars due to some rather forced coincidences which wind up the story and the issues noted before relating to Marian. But I would certainly re-read this at some stage. ( )

Loved it. I will admit that 50% through and I still wasn't sure what was going on but I really didn't care. I just wanted to read more. But oh my does it come together brilliantly. Highly recommended. ( )