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

How did I miss this classic?

Where does The Woman in White rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

It ranks very high!

Did the plot keep you on the edge of your seat? How?

Yes, the story unfolds through the voice of multiple characters. The reader/listener discovers the details of the story just as the characters in the story would.

What does Josephine Bailey and Simon Prebble bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

Oh, the characters come alive through the voices of the reader! Especially Simon Prebble did a fantastic job of reading. I especially enjoyed his interpretation of the character of Mr. Fairlie!

Any additional comments?

I've read a lot of classic novels, but somehow I had never even heard of Wilkie Collins, let alone "The Woman in White". I started listening on the recommendation of my sister and now I'm eager to read more of his writing. I would recommend this to anyone who enjoys a good classic novel- full of flowery language and a story where everything is not as it seems.

Long listen but worth it.

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

This book is a tour of Engish custom and manners as well as a passable mystery. I enjoyed the character development and ability of the author to transport the reader to the setting the novel takes place in.

Wonderful story in the English novel tradition

An absorbing long read with terrific character development with the language and techniques of 19th century English novels and 20th century British mysteries. One of my favorite books from Audible. Fascinating multiple points of view while maintaining one time line without flashbacks and minimal foreshadowing.

Good solid story with great descriptions

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

Recommended - it was a great historical story that was well written, solid and interesting.

Did the plot keep you on the edge of your seat? How?

Yes it did - great descriptions of the period and the people.

Any additional comments?

Highly recommended if you enjoy a wee bit of romance, a mystery set in a great bygone era. It's a classic and deservedly so.

A GREAT Book and narrator!

I was so pleasantly surprised by this novel. It's not a period romance/mystery novel like Shirly or Tenant of Wildfell Hall. It does have a background love theme in which the boy gets the girl in the end but it's primarily a mystery and crime novel with some very interesting characters. It also highlights the role of women in the mid 1800s and how they were nothing more than chattel. I was very sad when it ended. I recommend this novel highly. The narrators are excellent! I will be looking for more novels by them both.

Wonderful mystery and Victorian intrigue

I never read a book by Wilkie Collins, and I truely enjoyed this one. My favorite narrators both! What a treat. Simon Prebble and Josephine Bailey. I truely hope they read a book together again. Someone please hire both of these readers over and over! The book itself had a great story. It is still an intriguing story after all this time. Loved it!

She's been and gone.

A phenomenal best seller in its day, this book is engaging as a great example of the behaviour of the era. Very well written and retains enough mystery to attach to it but the inability of the women at the centre of the story to cope emotionally with the ongoing dramas was thoroughly annoying. Falling about with the vapours was obviously an accepted reaction in those days, doesn't wash now.

Best Mystery I will ever Read

Nothing is ever going to top this one. Real characters, not just stick figures. I felt real dread of the sort that only great writing, not sensationalism, can produce. Even where I sort of saw what was coming, it had twists I did not expect - the most satisfyingly baroque plot ever.

Much better than the more highly regarded Moonstone, which was cute but not nearly as deep or satisfying.

I'm picky about readers but this was masterful. Agree with the few quibbles about Fosco's accent but minor.

Perfection All Around

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

Absolutely yes. I had to control myself from starting over from the beginning the minute I finished the first time through. The richness of the plot, the development of the characters, and the brilliant narration lend themselves to a second and maybe third or fourth listen.

What did you like best about this story?

The story is enthralling, with terrific characterizations, settings, and plot development. More than a mystery--although it is a great mystery--it gives the listener a vivid sense of the class structure of mid 19th century England that governed the social behavior of virtually all the characters. I loved the description of the fledgling attempts of women to assert some degree of independence, sympathetically portrayed through the character of Marion Halcolme. And there is the rest of the colorful cast of characters from the villainous Count Fosco to the courageous and moral Walter Hartright to get to know and enjoy. I loved that the story is told in the form of letters, which allows for the separate voices of characters to reveal their emotions and thoughts directly to the reader/ listener.

Have you listened to any of Josephine Bailey and Simon Prebble ’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

No, but this narration is so wonderful that you can bet I'll be listening to their other performances in the future. Prebble's skill in differentiating the speech of the various characters he gives voice to is amazing. He also handles the female voice particularly well, which isnt always the case with other narrators.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

Yes, although the length of the book makes that impossible. By the end, I was in love with Walter and in awe of Marion. Finishing the book made me reluctant to start another. Honestly this is the best listen I've had from among the scores of audio books I've owned.

Any additional comments?

Do NOT pass this one up. It is a rare treat!

slow start, but worth sticking to it

Victorian writing is often fairly wordy, and it took about an hour or two for me to really get in to the story.....but it was well worth it. After that, the story and characters was enough to keep me involved through some of the formal dialogue and long descriptions. That surprised me - I had expected a 160 year old gothic mystery to be rather blase and predictable, but I was drawn in to the story so that I wasn't even trying to guess what was going to happen.

Obviously the Victorian view of women, romantic relationships, and class are well-demonstrated, but that is as expected, so I didn't mind. I didn't really care for the female narrator, but she was OK -- it wasn't my first choice of narration for this book, but it was the narration on sale, so I grabbed it.