The Woman in White

By: Wilkie Collins

Narrated by: various

Length: 25 hrs and 18 mins

Publisher's summary

When Walter Hartright encounters the "solitary figure of a woman, dressed from head to foot in white garments" on a lonely road, he is haunted by her. He falls in love with his employer's niece, Laura, because she resembles the mysterious woman. Laura, however, is betrothed to the evil Sir Percival, who wishes to marry her for her money. The woman in white, it turns out, is Anne Catherick, who was confined in an asylum by the evil Sir Percival because she knew a devastating secret about him. Now he is determined to destroy Anne, disguise Laura as Anne and confine her, and obtain all of her money. The only one who can stop him is the courageous Marian Halcombe, Laura's half-sister.

A tremendous success when it was first published in 1860, The Woman in White still enthralls over a century later.

©1987 JimCin Recordings (P)1987 JimCin Recordings

interesting story; good narration

The four stars are awarded because it was a well written story, with well developed characters and an interesting plot. I did not find it difficult to follow the storyline though different readers took over at different parts as a means of developing the narration. (Somewhat like a testimony in a court of law) While, the narrators were good, a few times the actual taping device seemed to have restarted at a different volume, so it was not a flawless recording. (This is why I did not give it a 5 star rating.) For parents: There was no language or inappropriate descriptions that would prevent an adolescent from being able to listen along with the parents, though I am not sure the story would be interesting to a younger child.

Good Readers & Story

If you liked the Moonstone you will love The Woman in White. This is an excellent recording of another classic British mystery/romance. Don't miss this story of love, loss, insanity, attempted murder, spies, and intrigue!

Excellent

This was an excellent book. The suspense had me on the edge of my seat. I could hardly wait for the reader to keep going. If I was reading the book, I wouldn't have been able to put it down. One of the best books I've listened to so far.

Variable narrators

Good story, but spoiled for me by some of the narrators, all of whom were Americans trying to do British accents. One narrator evidently learned his accent from watching Boris Karloff films. The narrator who played Mrs. Mitchelson was awful, dull boring monotone, studded by mispronunciations. I'm a Brit, so I may be unduly critical; American listeners may find the narration acceptable.

beautiful language

If you like the language and writing of Dickens or Austin, you will like this writing. why say "not likely" when you can say "doubtful in the extreme"? so much better. An absorbing victorian mystery, with vivid personalities. the melodrama makes it all the more humorous, but really such a good story and memorable characters.

Classic mystery

Excellent "old-fashioned" mystery told in the "many points of view" style. Each character has his or her own voice ( i.e. different readers ). Some were better than others but the overall effect was great.

More complex than Moonstone

I thoroughly enjoyed Moonstone-the famous mystery novel by the same author. I was skeptical when I decided to buy "The woman in white" wondering if it would live up to the standard of Moonstone.I am glad that it was even better. I could hardly stop listening to it. The narrators were quite good, especially the voice of Marian Holcomb is rivet ting. I highly recommend it,especially if you love British literature !!

Excellent version

This is one of my favorite Wilkie Collins novels. He manages to combine an tantalizing mystery with the perfect amount of creepiness to keep me on the edge of my seat. The first time I read it; I read it again soon after. This audio version is beautifully done with well selected narrators for the three distinct voices in the book. I highly recommend it.

Who was telling the truth

The use of different narrators was like witnesses at a trial. Each witness had a biased viewpoint, but were there more sinister goings on and hidden by the narrators? Who really married and lived happily ever after? What were the relationships between the threesome that lived happily ever after? Were they more involved in the murders and the accidents that befelled those that got in the way? Collins wove a real thriller that forces us to re-hear and to re-visit the narrators for clues.

One to return to again & again

I read somewhere, a long time ago, that Wilkie Collins was one of a handful of 19th & 20th century authors whose works were best when read aloud. I've enjoyed reading the works of Mr. Collins for 35 years, but this is the first time I've listened. What a delight! I think I made the right choice too in selecting the version with multiple readers. It provided added dimension. On to "The Moonstone". I hope it's as good.