The Woman in White // Wilkie Collins

A few years ago, back when Project Gutenberg was still accessible in Germany, I was on vacation and devoured Wilkie Collins’ The Moonstone. I loved the drama and suspense and British society of that book so much that I put The Woman in White on my to-be-read-list, and finally, this year it was time for me to read it.

The Woman in White has a fairly complicated plot with many subplots, and I don’t want to spoil anyone’s reading experience by laying it all out here. Broadly speaking, the book is about a marriage scam, several layers of deception between various protagonists, and about interesting, weird, and entertaining characters.

We get to know the story through the accounts of several of them: main characters as well as supporting ones. I read The Woman in White out loud together with my parter, and because of the many characters, we had a lot of fun with accents and role-playing. If you’re looking for a book to read out loud, this is definitely one to consider.

The book begins quite slow, picks up speed towards the middle, and then drags out a bit in the end, which is a bit of a pity. One character (I won’t tell you who) dies towards the end, but this death is quite anticlimactic compared to the rest of the character’s storyline and what you expect as a reader.

I will definitely put the rest of Wilke Collins’ books on my TBR list as well; even though I liked The Moonstone better than The Woman in White, I was introduced to Count Fosco, who now holds a special place in my heart. You will understand if you read the book.

Title: The Woman in White
Author: Wilkie Collins
First published: 1859