The Woman in White

By: Wilkie Collins

Narrated by: Roger Rees, Rosalyn Landor, John Lee, Judy Geeson

Young Walter Hartright meets the mysterious woman in white in what soon became one of the most popular novels of the 19th century. Secrets, mistaken identities, surprise revelations, amnesia, locked rooms and locked asylums, and an unorthodox villain made this mystery thriller an instant success when it first appeared in 1860, and it has continued to enthrall ever since.

From the hero's foreboding before his arrival at Limmeridge House to the nefarious plot concerning the beautiful Laura, the breathtaking tension of Collins's narrative created a new literary genre of suspense fiction, which profoundly shaped the course of English popular writing.

Generally considered the first English sensation novel, The Woman in White features the remarkable heroine Marian Halcombe and her sleuthing partner, drawing-master Walter Hartright, pitted against the diabolical team of Count Fosco and Sir Percival Glyde. A gripping tale of murder, intrigue, madness, and mistaken identity, Collins's psychological thriller has never been out of print since its publication in 1860.

While Collins's other great mystery, The Moonstone, has been called the finest detective story ever written, it was this work that so gripped the imagination of the world that Wilkie Collins had his own tombstone inscribed "Author of The Woman in White."

Public Domain (P)2009 Blackstone Audio, Inc.

Rush, Saunter, Sit

Excellent story and now the source of my new favorite quote: Some people rush through life, some people saunter through life, Miss Vesy sat through life. Story read by my favorite reader: Rosalind Landor.

An Amazing Classic!

I very highly recommend this great listen! This is an impeccably narrated book. It is an amazing classic, the writing comparable to a Charles Dickens novel (of whom Wilkie Collins was in fact a contemporary). The writing itself is worth the listen and the plot has many twist and turns. The only book that has ever gotten a 5-star all around from me!

ehh

The story could have definitely been cut down in half. I like descriptive narrative as much as the next reader but alot of the times it just seemed to ramble on and on. I mean it has the story from so many different points of view. the 2 sisters, the maid the other maid, the father...i mean COME ONNNN. The story was entertaining enough to get me to finish it, but it was annoying enough for it not to be enjoyable. I can't say I was sad it was finally over with. Maybe if you can find an abridged version?

Love so much!

This was such a great book! There are a few parts in the middle where I was thinking, "You were paid by the word, weren't you..." -- but it's so well written that at one point I looked up the ending because I was so curious... and then finished listening to the book because even spoilers couldn't spoil it!

Another multi-cast winner

his famous nineteenth century novel is the perfect choice for a multi-cast reading, and this is a wonderful production. Almost 26 hours long, Roger Rees, Rosalyn Lander, John Lee and Judy Geeson create every character distinctly as the author intended. Originally published as a serial, each character tells their own part of the mystery as if they are giving testimony in a court of law. The sense of mystery, tension and horror increases with every change of perspective until the final d??nouement.

The structure of this novel seemed amazingly modern. Had it not been for the jarring racial and social stereotypes sprinkled throughout the book, I could have believed that it was historical fiction written by a contemporary author. After many suspenseful twists and turns of the plot, Collins wraps up all of the loose ends and comes to a mostly satisfying happily ever after. It only left this twenty-first century reader with one unanswered question; how could Walter Hartright possibly prefer the vapid Laura to the courageous Marian?