The Woman in Black by Susan Hill (Book Analysis): Detailed Summary, Analysis and Reading Guide

By Bright Summaries

Unlock the more straightforward side of The Woman in Black with this concise and insightful summary and analysis!

This engaging summary presents an analysis of The Woman in Black by Susan Hill, which follows the ambitious young lawyer Arthur Kipps as he volunteers to travel to remote Eel Marsh House to organise the affairs of the deceased Alice Drablow. However, he quickly becomes aware that the house harbours a dark secret that seems to be linked to a sinister black-clad woman whose spectral presences follows him around the town. He then uncovers a tragic story of loss and revenge that soon has disastrous consequences for his own life… The Woman in Black is Susan Hill’s best-known novel, and has inspired numerous film, television and radio adaptations.

Find out everything you need to know about The Woman in Black in a fraction of the time!

This in-depth and informative reading guide brings you:
• A complete plot summary
• Character studies
• Key themes and symbols
• Questions for further reflection

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• Language: English
• Publisher: BrightSummaries.com
• Release date: Apr 3, 2019
• ISBN: 9782808016339

Book preview

ENGLISH WRITER

Born in Scarborough in 1942.

Notable works:

I’m the King of the Castle (1970), novel

The Magic Apple Tree (1982), autobiography

The Various Haunts of Men (2004), crime novel

Susan Hill was born in 1942 in Scarborough, where she lived until her family relocated to Coventry when she was 16. She studied English at King’s College London, and published her first novel, The Enclosure, while studying. She later described her earliest novels as very bad… but best to have got them out of the way when young.

A prolific writer, Hill’s fiction spans many genres, including horror, crime and children’s. In addition to this, she has also written plays, short stories, non-fiction and literary criticism. She won plaudits and prizes for her earlier work, including the Somerset Maugham Award for I’m the King of the Castle, and she was shortlisted for the Booker Prize in 1972 for The Bird of the Night. She is best known for her 1983 Gothic horror novel The Woman in Black, a hugely successful addition to the genre that has sold millions of copies and been adapted into a television film, a stage play and a film.

A WORK OF GOTHIC HORROR

Genre: horror novel

Reference edition: Hill, S. (1992) The Woman in Black. London: Mandarin Paperbacks.

1stedition: 1983

Themes: ghosts, revenge, death, parenthood, isolation, village