The Woman in White

By: Wilkie Collins

Narrated by: Ian Holm

Length: 24 hrs and 37 mins

Publisher's summary

Exclusively from Audible

Late one moonlit night, Walter Hartright encounters a solitary and terrified woman dressed all in white. He saves her from capture by her pursuers and determines to solve the mystery of her distress and terror.

Inspired by an actual criminal case, this gripping tale of murder, intrigue, madness and mistaken identity has never been out of print since its publication and brought Collins great fame and success. Considered to be among the first mystery novels and the first and finest in the genre of 'sensation novels', The Woman in White is noted for its suspenseful plot and unique characterisation.

Collins's use of multiple narrators drew on his legal training and he states 'the story of an offence against the laws is told in Court by more than one witness'.

In 2003, Robert McCrum writing for The Observer ranked The Woman in White number 23 in the top 100 greatest novels of all time. The novel was also listed at number 77 on the BBC's survey The Big Read.

Charles Dickens was a close friend and mentor of Collins, and the two collaborated together on drama and fiction. The Woman in White, as well as some of his other work, was first published in Dickens' journals.

Narrator Biography

Sir Ian Holm, is a star of the Royal Shakespeare Company, who has played more than 100 roles in films and on television, whilst receiving a stream of awards and nominations. His television debut came as Richard III on the BBC's filmed theatrical production The Wars of the Roses (1965). One of his best-known roles is Sam Mussabini in Chariots of Fire (1981). He has also starred in The Fifth Element (1997), From Hell (2001), The Aviator (2004) and as Bilbo Baggins in The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit films. He has provided voice-overs for many television documentaries including 1066: The Battle for Middle Earth (2009), starred in the BBC's The Lord of the Rings radio dramatisations and narrated many audiobooks. In 1989 he was appointed CBE and in 1998 was knighted for his services to drama.

Public Domain (P)2014 Audible, Inc.

Best Books

I have thoroughly enjoyed this book. It is excellently written and performed. I still have not completely finished it, but I want to review it while I remember. I'm going to listen to it again when I am finished. It is one of the best I have listened to yet. Very much enjoyed, greatly written, and a very good voice makes it the best. It has so many twists and turns it is sometimes necessary to go back and listen again. Maybe that is just my mind that can't remember or keep up but I am fascinated with the who plot or the several turns it takes.

Surprisingly fresh

Modern day authors should take note, this style of writing is refreshing and holds interest in a lengthy novel.

literature AND mystery

a conspracy and mystery novel that is literature. wonderfully written IF you love language.....may be too long for the edge of your seat thriller readers (I enjoy these too) but a treat for dickens fans.

wow!

this was a good listen. very long but very well written. truly a classic. the narrator was excellent.

Captivating; a treasure!

I rarely listen to an audiobook without knowing a good bit about it first, but here I made an exception. Upon learning the term “Victorian sensation novel” and knowing this book was one of the forerunners of the genre (and liking Ian Holm), I decided to just dive in. The hours went by quickly and I was genuinely surprised by the twists and turns of the plot. So many modern stories have been imagined and produced in regards to this era, but I believe this one (actually written in the Victorian period) stands alone. It was truly captivating; I’d recommend it to anyone wanting to be taken back in time and on an adventure you won’t soon forget.

Great Suspense

This was one of the greatest of gothic novels I have read (listened to) The narrator and the story were perfect together! I couldn't stop listening although I did have to stretch it out a few days!

Background noise

Could hear someone else talking in the background quite frequently throughout, very distracting. Otherwise great.

Enthralling read!

A fine example of classic literature meets mystery and intrigue. It kept me interested until the very end.

Enjoyable!

A mystery told from multiple points of view. This is very long, so get invested. It also has some great comic relief, which surprised me.

The story

I loved it all…it was way easier to listen to than to read! The readers were very good!