Read more
"She looked so irresistibly beautiful as she said those brave words that no man alive could have steeled his heart against her."
In love with the beautiful heiress Laura Fairlie, the impoverished art teacher Walter Hartright finds his romantic desires thwarted by her previous engagement to Sir Percival Glyde. But all is not as it seems with Sir Percival, as becomes clear when he arrives with his eccentric friend Count Fosco. The mystery and intrigue are further deepened by the ghostly appearances of a woman in white, apparently harbouring a secret that concerns Sir Percival's past.
A tale of love, madness, deceit and redemption, boasting sublime Gothic settings and pulse-quickening suspense, The Woman in White was the first best-selling Victorian sensation novel, sparking off a huge trend in the fiction of the time with its compulsive, fascinating narrative.
About the author
Wilkie Collins, geb. 1824 in London als ältester Sohn des Landschaftsmalers William Collins und 1889 gestorben, hatte zunächst die juristische Laufbahn eingeschlagen, bis er beschloss, das Aufdecken von Kriminalfällen und Geheimnissen ausschließlich literarisch in Szene zu setzen. Er schrieb neben seinen Kurzgeschichten und Theaterstücken über 30 Romane. Seine heute berühmtesten Werke 'Der Monddiamant', in dem der erste Detektiv in der englischen Literatur auftritt, und 'Die Frau in Weiß', ein poetischer, mystisch-mysteriöser Thriller, fanden bereits beim zeitgenössischen Publikum größten Beifall.
Summary
Part of Alma Classics Evergreens series, this edition of The Woman in White includes pictures and an extensive section on Collins's life and works.
Report
For sheer plotting genius, Collins had no rival. If you've never read this, I can promise you one of the most gripping stories of all time. Philip Pullman
