
“Any woman who is sure of her own wits, is a match, at any time, for a man who is not sure of his own temper.”― Wilkie Collins, The Woman in White
Wilkie Collins was a friend and contemporary of Charles Dickens. He was not as prolific as Dickens but his work has also stood the test of time. The Woman in White is a mystery novel and one of the first examples of detective fiction and is also considered one of the best examples of Victorian-era Gothic mystery and suspense. The story is told by multiple narrators and begins with the young art teacher, Walter Hartright, comes across a young woman in London who is dressed completely in white. He later learns she ad escaped from an asylum. Fast forward and Walter finds himself employed as a drawing instructor for a family in the countryside. He is surprised to meet a young woman who looks surprisingly similar to the young woman he saw in London. This similarity in appearance leads to the discovery of dark secrets about the young woman and her family. This is an intriguing mystery complete with star crossed lovers, secret identities, forged documents, and hidden secrets.
Content Advisory: Murder, death of a parent, kidnapping, abuse