The Woman in White

By: Wilkie Collins

Narrated by: Gabriel Woolf

Length: 24 hrs and 43 mins

Publisher's summary

The Woman in White, considered one of the first mystery novels and is the best known work of English novelist Wilkie Collins.

Late one night, a drawing teacher meets a mysterious woman dressed in white. Who is she, and what is her connection to the teacher's new pupil, a beautiful heiress?

Serialized in 1859 - 1860, and first published in book form in 1860 it is still regarded still as one of the best plots in English literature. Told from multiple perspectives, the story is brought to life by its marvellous villains and complex, spirited and believable female characters.

William Wilkie Collins (1824 - 1889) was an English novelist, playwright, and author of short stories.

Please note: This is a vintage recording. The audio quality may not be up to modern day standards.

Public Domain (P)2009 RNIB

Plot never loses Attention

Incredible story and telling - loved the characters and the humility portrayed- mist the navigation between the voices of the characters was superb

Great story full many twists and turns

This was a fabulously intriguing action packed story. I can see how it was written to be serial with little sections of intrigue that kept the story moving in every chapter. For the modern listener it could have done with less detail in some sections, but then maybe it would not have been so captivating. And being before the days of sequels I loved that all the loose ends were resolved in a single book.

I would recommend to anyone who enjoys a good story with a bit of everything and a few surprises.

Magic.

Excellent

Very engaging novel. Written in 1859 it offers interesting insight into 19th century Brittish manners and customs.

Entertaining 19th Century Soap Opera

I have listened to many, many audiobooks, and I would rate The Woman in White as one of the best and most engaging novels out there. Imagine a cross between Charles Dickens and a soap opera & you will get an idea of tone of this book. The story moves along with a number of twists and turns to keep it interesting. The characters are very well drawn and, in the end (like a Dickens novel) the good guys win and the bad guys lose.

I liked the book and the narrator

This is a great book, and Wilkie Collins is a master. The recording is not top quality, but Gabriel Woolf has a great voice and you can't beat the price. If you can look past some background noises and little stumbles you will not be disappointed. If you are a finicky listener, look for a different version, but make sure you listen to The Woman in White.

Worth the time commitment

I chose this book quite by accident to listen to while working a task with my hands, needing to keep my mind busy. It is 24 hours of narrative but I loved its twists and turns! If you love English novels, you’ll love this book, I did!

great performance

Some of the reviews criticize this production because the reader makes some mistakes, such as a few burps. The listener should take into consideration that the producer is the UK's RNIB (Royal National Institute of Blind People). The productions are rather old and were done on a limited budget. This is why the price is so low. However, this does not mean that the readings are poor. To the contrary, all of the RNIB audiobooks I've listened to were read by top notch British actors who, in my opinion, do a far better job than most professional readers. The reader of this audiobook, Gabriel Wolff, gives a stellar performance. I recognize him from other audiobooks. He is superb. I'll gladly tolerate his occasional snafu which would have been cleaned up by a more expensive production, in exchange for his protean character adaptations. The aristocrats sound like aristocrats and the commoners sound like commoners. Though I guess I could have rated this 4 stars because of the uneven production, when one takes into consideration the extremely low price, this audiobook clearly deserves 5 stars.

Great old story, unedited recording

Really enjoyed the convoluted old mystery story. Narrator is great, but the recording is unedited.

Well worth the time

The narrator took some getting used to but the story is so good that it overcame the narrator swallowing

Exciting Listen! Amazing! Delicious!

Why did it take me so long to discover this spine-tingler? I majored in literature and heard this book mentioned; why not simply read it then when I was young? No matter. I'm on the second listen now and catching more bits of characterization, more details that show the author's careful planning of his story. The book transports you to 1850's England country houses with servants, long walks, dressing for dinner, dependable trains and amazingly fast mail service! Of course you want to know what happens next. Sometimes the book seems slow, as country life can seem slow. Then something is overheard or a letter is intercepted or there is a conversation during which you want to tell one of the characters to listen, pay attention and make the connection! Or don't do what you're about to do! On subsequent listens you notice how the attitudes of some characters change with time. One of the villains is mulled over and considered quite a nice-looking man, and a real charmer despite kicking dogs and yelling at servants!! So while I was commenting to myself "Gimme a break!" I was also captivated by the Victorian language and concerns in the story. ... Gabriel Woolf is an excellent narrator. Except for a couple froggies in the throat, his reading is perfect. . . I enjoyed that while the book is set in England, its scope is global. The characters go abroad and return. Or they have lived abroad. Or they are from elsewhere. . . . Collins ties everything up at the end. Lovely happy ending with our favorite characters plus of course a new little person facing their fortunate future. . . . A last comment: audible's blurb about the book suggests that it is multi-layered or a demanding mental puzzle. Yes it is, but for a reasonably bright person it is an effortless listen. I received some life-changing mail yesterday and push myself now to write this review quickly and badly to tell everybody to READ THIS BOOK -- YOU WON'T BE SORRY!