Written in 1859, The Woman in White belongs to the genre of sensation fiction. This was an extremely popular Victorian type of novel, concerned with mystery, family secrets, murder, and the supernatural. Often, the centre of the mystery was a beautiful woman.
In The Woman in White, there is not one beautiful woman but two, Laura Fairlie and Anne Catherick, the actual woman in white. The two women are identical in appearance, and are both caught up in the fate of Walter Hartright, a young and idealistic art teacher.
The scene where Walter meets Anne, clad in white, on the moonlit road to London at midnight is, for me, among the finest pieces of literature ever written. I am not sure why. This scene is not pleasant, it is rather tragic. Yet it is unforgettable.
The novel became a huge hit in the Victorian era, and made Wilkie Collins famous. Other memorable characters in The Woman in White are the evil Count Fosco and Marian Halcombe, Laura's faithful half-sister.
The Woman in White played with many Victorian hopes and fears: finding happiness and moving upwards in the social scale as against deadly family secrets, villainous and violent husbands, crime and madness.
What is the secret of the Woman in White? Not only the plot, but also life and death depend on finding the answer. But I also think that the answer has a lot to do with the heart and mind of each reader, for the novel is unsettling and enigmatic to the end...
The Woman in White is a long novel. Victorians loved the slow-moving, dense narrative. If you don't mind this, and you love mystery, this novel is for you!
Have a lovely weekend, always with beauty and a book! xxx
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