The Woman in White

Written by Wilkie Collins

Narrated by LibriVox Community

The Woman in White is an epistolary novel written by Wilkie Collins in 1859, serialized in 1859-1860, and first published in book form in 1860. It is considered to be to the first mystery novel, and is widely regarded as one of the first (and finest) in the genre of ’sensation novels’….

The Woman in White is also an early example of a particular type of Collins narrative in which several characters in turn take up the telling of the story. This creates a complex web in which readers are unsure which narrator can, and cannot, be trusted. Collins used this technique in his other novels, including The Moonstone. This technique was copied by other novelists, including Bram Stoker, author of Dracula (1897), although by the end of the 19th century the technique was considered “old-fashioned”. (Summary from Wikipedia)

• Language: English
• Publisher: LibriVox
• Release date: Aug 25, 2014

Wilkie Collins

Wilkie Collins, hijo del paisajista William Collins, nació en Londres en 1824. Fue aprendiz en una compañía de comercio de té, estudió Derecho, hizo sus pinitos como pintor y actor, y antes de conocer a Charles Dickens en 1851, había publicado ya una biografía de su padre, Memoirs of the Life of William Collins, Esq., R. A. (1848), una novela histórica, Antonina (1850), y un libro de viajes, Rambles Beyond Railways (1851). Pero el encuentro con Dickens fue decisivo para la trayectoria literaria de ambos. Basil (ALBA CLÁSICA núm. VI; ALBA MÍNUS núm.) inició en 1852 una serie de novelas «sensacionales», llenas de misterio y violencia pero siempre dentro de un entorno de clase media, que, con su técnica brillante y su compleja estructura, sentaron las bases del moderno relato detectivesco y obtuvieron en seguida una gran repercusión: La dama de blanco (1860), Armadale (1862) o La Piedra Lunar (1868) fueron tan aplaudidas como imitadas. Sin nombre (1862; ALBA CLÁSICA núm. XVII; ALBA CLÁSICA MAIOR núm. XI) y Marido y mujer (1870; ALBA CLÁSICA MAIOR núm. XVI; ALBA MÍNUS núm.), también de este período, están escritas sin embargo con otras pautas, y sus heroínas son mujeres dramáticamente condicionadas por una arbitraria, aunque real, situación legal. En la década de 1870, Collins ensayó temas y formas nuevos: La pobre señorita Finch (1871-1872; ALBA CLÁSICA núm. XXVI; ALBA MÍNUS núm 5.) es un buen ejemplo de esta época. El novelista murió en Londres en 1889, después de una larga carrera de éxitos.

Reviews for The Woman in White

[Chris Davies · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Art Teacher, Walter Hartright falls in love with his student, Laura Fairlie, who is affianced to an elder baron, Sir Percival Glyde. She is married to the baron, who sets about protecting his false identity and uses her for her fortune.

Count Fosco, a friend of Sir Percival, and the baron set about a scheme to rid the baron of any witness to his falsehood and to capture the fortune of his wife.

Hartright returns from abroad and tries to recover Laura's identity .

I'm amazed at how little human nature has changed through the centuries. Well worth the read!

[Clare Gaia Russell · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

It’s not a quick “read”, by any means, but it does give you an idea of the book lengths that were seen as acceptable in Mr. Collins’ day. The Count is an especially interesting character.

[Donna Larson Christian · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Very interesting book. Well written and read. I can`t help but wonder if this is a true story somehow.....sure made me think that way.

[scott Newbry · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Long book! Great story! These have been a new style to me but I have really enjoyed them!