The Woman in White

By: Wilkie Collins

Narrated by: Glen McCready, Rachel Bavidge

Length: 27 hrs and 59 mins

Publisher's summary

Walter Hartright, a drawing teacher to two sisters, wants to marry Laura, though she is betrothed to another. But who is the mysterious woman in white he encounters?

Wilkie Collins was a master of suspense, but his transfer to audiobook requires a cast of readers to faithfully reflect the11 different characters who tell the story. Naxos AudioBooks brings together a strong cast to bring alive the mystery and suspense of The Woman in White.

Download the accompanying reference guide.

Public Domain (P)2008 Naxos Audiobooks

Critic reviews

"Collins's mid-Victorian novel is one of the first, and possibly still the greatest, of all literary thrillers." ( The Irish Times)

Mixed Bag of Voice Talent

I will comment first on the overall voice performances; I have not listened to very many ensemble cast versions of recorded books and over all this cast did a good job and the quality was good. The woman who read for Marian did a great job as Marian, but her interpretation of The Count's voice was awful...just...terrible. That is my only complaint on the performance side of things. The overall story of The Woman in White is good. I went into this reading with no knowledge of the plot and there were several spots where I was on the edge of my seat in anticipation of what was to come. Wilkie kept me guessing for most of the novel in regards to the mysteries that were taking place. The end of the story does drag on a bit; rather like an old James Bond film where the bad guy reveals his whole secret plan with 30 minutes still to go in the movie, but it was interesting to hear the different perspectives from the "witnesses". Overall I'd recommend this story to anyone who enjoys a mystery/thriller/courtroom drama.

Go for The Moonstone instead

I've read Wilkie Collins' the Moonstone twice now, and it is a fantastic book. It's similar to The Woman in White in that he presents the story in multiple narratives from different characters. However, I found The Woman in White to be overly drawn out even for a Victorian novel. I enjoyed listening to it because the performances were really good, but the story just went on and on, and was mostly pretty obvious except for maybe one twist. I don't see myself reading or listening to this book again, whereas The Moonstone is one I'll pick up every five years or so I'm sure. If you want to invest 30 hours of listening on Wilkie Collins, go for the Moonstone!

Performance of voice actors held my attention!

I have tried to read this book for many years. I had heard many a movie had employed various pieces of its plot lines and thus it was considered the ‘mother of all screen plays’. This audible form was affordable and I thought it might ease the monotony of an hour on my exercise machine each am. In a very short time I began to look forward to my odious exercise hour and hearing more of the story. Soon I was listening while knitting, sewing and housekeeping. I hope these actors will be used often in future audible books. They certainly earned their fees and my admiration, for their animated voices made the story intriguing and thoroughly enjoyable!

Excellent story.

Excellent story. Well written. Well performed. Would recommend you to listen. Well worth your time.

Long, but Wow

This is the second Naxos book I've listened to (the other being the unabridged Ulysses), and I've been very impressed by the voice acting in both productions.

Be warned, though. This is a long book, and the formal Victorian English language and mannerisms herein sound stilted and cliched to modern ears. But give it a chance. Give it about five solid hours of listening, to be precise, and this book will work its slow, deliberate spell on you. And if you have a thing for mystery novels, well, this is pretty much where the genre began.

Gothic Romance And Mystery

We might not instantly think of Wilkie Collins as a Gothic writer--Poe and Dickinson perhaps coming more quickly to mind--but this is a novel rich in Gothic mystery, romance and tension. Without revealing too much of the story, I will say that Collins does a masterful job of weaving a steadily moving tale while always holding back enough to keep the reader wanting more. The characters are sometimes nearly Gothic caricatures in their physical presentation, but most, and all of the main personages rise above the stereotype in behavior and attitude, Collins always giving rich and complicated, believable characters. While Gothic in a different manner as the writing of Poe, it will live in your mind and memory in much the same way. The brush strokes of description are careful and masterfully placed, building an entire world for the reader to enter and live in so that we are quiet observers of the people and occurrences that spring forth from the words.

Great story well told

Excellent characters, a sense of time and place, suspense, superb narration: who could ask for more.

Outstanding Work, Stupendously Performed

Would you listen to The Woman in White again? Why?

Yes, possibly at some future point in the future once I have forgotten it enough.

Any additional comments?

I was enthralled with the narrator's voice, accent, and performance.
The English setting of the story was appealing to me, as I much enjoy British both literature and an authentic British accent to carry it. Besides the intrigue following the mystery and the pathos in the romance, I also loved the preview into English culture and the like.

Very Long!

Overall, an interesting story. I purchased this audio book after listening to The Thirteenth Tale, in which there were several references to The Woman in White. I found it difficult connect with any of the characters in the story, and didn't have much interest in any of them. He story was much too long and drawn out, and very predictable. Having it retold by each character was excruciating. The narration was good for the first few hours, but then began to grate on my nerves. However, I'm glad I made it to the end since The Woman in White is considered a classic.

Incredible Journey

Loved Glen McCready's narration, brilliant!!! If you love Dickens, you will love this story! Worth the time for this long and extremely entertaining novel!