The Woman in White

By: Wilkie Collins

Narrated by: Josephine Bailey, Simon Prebble

Length: 25 hrs and 6 mins

Publisher's summary

One of the greatest mystery thrillers ever written, Wilkie Collins's The Woman in White was a phenomenal best seller in the 1860s, achieving even greater success than works by Charles Dickens. Full of surprise, intrigue, and suspense, this vastly entertaining novel continues to enthrall audiences today.

The story begins with an eerie midnight encounter between artist Walter Hartright and a ghostly woman dressed all in white who seems desperate to share a dark secret. The next day Hartright, engaged as a drawing master to the beautiful Laura Fairlie and her half sister, tells his pupils about the strange events of the previous evening.

Determined to learn all they can about the mysterious woman in white, the three soon find themselves drawn into a chilling vortex of crime, poison, kidnapping, and international intrigue.

Masterfully constructed, The Woman in White is dominated by two of the finest creations in all Victorian fiction: Marion Halcombe, dark, mannish, yet irresistibly fascinating, and Count Fosco, the sinister and flamboyant "Napoleon of Crime".

Public Domain (P)2010 Tantor

Loved this book & the narration!

Great story with unexpected plot twists and turns. I was captivated from beginning to end. The voices were perfect to tell the amazing tale.

I don't want it to end!

My first reaction after finishing this story was that I wished I hadn't started it, so I could listen again for the first time. It has been described as the 'best mystery story ever written", IT IS!! REALLY. I am not articulate enough to describe all it has to offer, just that it has everything. Get it and get lost in it.

A nice foray into literary history

Collins is often credited as one of the first popular English mystery writers. For this reason, and because the of late popularity of Jane Austen has shown us how ridiculous and confining mid-19th century English society was, we can forgive the convoluted coincidences and credulous actions necessary to maneuver the characters into the dire situations necessary for his drama.

The story itself is classic. The title is from a mysterious woman, who always dresses completely in white, who appears early on and throughout the story to warn of vague impending doom. The conceit of the book is that it is told as recollections and interviews of various characters, which may have been novel 170 years ago and is certainly used today, in order to give the listener a patchwork of clues that he must unravel in order to see the deeper mystery underneath. The modern listener must keep in mind the constraints on women in that society, which Collins comments on directly, to explain why the people in danger don't simply run away when they realize what is happening. Collins also on occasion defends his amazing coincidences in the narration itself, which I found a little cute in such a classic, but hope that no one can get away with doing any more.

The male narrator, Simon Prebble, was quite weak. I really disliked him. His Phillip Fairley is supposed to be weak and dislikable, and he does a fair job of that. But his Laura Fairley sounds weak in the head and on the verge of fainting, and his voice in general becomes so soft and fuzzy at the end of sentences that I can't really understand what he is saying some of the time. I had to turn the volume way up just to hear what the last word or two of each sentence was. Within twenty minutes I'd resolved myself to never buy another audiobook that he narrates. I'd rather have the dead trees.

Josephine Bailey, on the other hand, was quite good. Her Fosco was her weakest (and didn't match with Prebbles, nor did her other characters), but narrators generally have a hard time doing the other gender. It was, however, quite distinctive, and she did a great job of differentiating her various characters in a voice that was clear and easy to understand. I wish she had narrated the entire thing.

I got this book because I have an interest in Classic English literature. I'm going through Dickens on paper and have The Moonstone and a few other Collins novels to go through. Collins' phrasing is much less direct than Dickens'; he uses that to comic affect when describing Phillip Fairley and the state of English gentry, but at other times one must just accept that his style of prose takes 2-3 times longer to say something than modern prose would. It's an interesting peek back in time at a society that is often romanticized.

Outstanding story and performance

Any additional comments?

Since joining Audible, I have used audio books to help me get through my daily fitness commitment on the treadmill and other similar machines. I have listened to many good books by outstanding readers, and am constantly searching for a good mystery/thriller. After recently starting several mystery/thrillers, written by Audible Best Sellers, I had difficulty making it halfway through the book. Is seems that today's writers feel it necessary to include plots involving child molestation, serial killers, dismembering bodies, torture, and the like. Whatever happened to the bank robbery, diamond heist, or singular murder that had a convoluted plot, interesting characters, a little romance, and a clever detective to eventually find the culprit?

This was the case until I happened across The Woman in White. What beautifully crafted story and mystery. In my opinion, Wilkie Collins is comparable to Jane Austen in character development, and in a total command of the English language. I have started and am thoroughly enjoying my second book by Wilkie Collins, Moonstone.

I highly recommend both of these books.

A Suspense that Keeps You Guessing

Walter Hartright, a young art teacher, is startled when he is overtaken by a young woman dressed entirely in white while walking on the road from Hampstead to London. Visibly distressed, the young woman begs him to show her the way to London, and he offers to accompany her there. The young woman accepts his offer on the condition that he allow her to come and go as she pleases. Once he's dropped her off in London, two men in hot pursuit claim that the girl has escaped a mental asylum and must be returned there at once, but Walter does nothing to help them in their search. The next day he arrives at Limmeridge House, where he has gained a position as a drawing master. There he meets his young pupils, half sisters Marian and Laura. In no time at all, her befriends Marian—no great beauty is she, but quick, smart and amusing—and falls desperately in love with the heavenly loveliness that is Laura. But the encounter with the woman in white will carry many consequences.

I took absolute delight in discovering all the plot twists of this great classic mystery, so will disclose no more of the story nor of how it is told, but will say that it offers a wonderfully evil conspiracy and several highly memorable characters, not least of which the strange and compelling villain Count Fosco, who stole every scene in which he appeared, in my view. Also, the sublimely selfish Frederick Fairlie is one of the most memorable invalids I have ever encountered in a work of fiction. I must say that this version, narrated by Simon Prebble and Josephine Bailey, greatly increased my enjoyment of the tale, with wonderfully rendered characters. Now that I've listened to it and that there are no more secrets for me to discover, I still look forward to listening to it again for a fun romp with highly colourful characters and plenty of Gothic frissons.

An interesting read that held my attention

I like to rate books based on how excited I feel about diving back in each day and this story did not disappoint. Highly recommend for Jane Austen readers.

Great book

What a great book. I thought it would be somewhat slow becasue it was written in the 1800. But instead I was reminded that we probably are still much the same. I almost fell off my chair when I looked up the author and found out it was a man. He must have really understood women. He did not make them out to be weaklings but very strong and interesting.Listening to the chapters about the old man made me laugh outloud. There is so much humor in this book. I started to listen to it and I liked it right off the bat.I could not wait to get in to the car ( Where I listen to my audio books) So I could hear what happend next. The narrators made an exceptional job. The story is great. This is a book I would recommend to anyone. Now I can't wait to see if I can find the movie ( Or was it a series? ) I LOVED IT

Not really an evergreen

Would you recommend this book to a friend? Why or why not?

No, not really. I admire the currage of the writer to write such a story in that time frame but it would have been better to publish it on audible in an abriged version. The whole story endlessly dragged on.

What do you think the narrator could have done better?

The mail narrator was rather ok but the woman I didn't like.

Could you see The Woman in White being made into a movie or a TV series? Who should the stars be?

No. But if you find the best scenario writer maybe.

Loved every word

I enjoyed every word and throughout the book I could not wait to find out what would happen next. This is one of those books you do not want to stop listening to. The characters were fun and interesting and very well developed. Somehow, even trivial events in this book are written in a way that makes them intriguing. Highly recommended.

Interesting and absorbing period piece

Very long but doesn't seem to drag.

Most unusual story. I have just enjoyed listening for the second time - the first time being about 18 months earlier.