La dama de blanco

Escrito por Wilkie Collins

Narrado por Emilio Villa

Este Audiolibro, entre el misterio y la novela policíaca, realmente convierte en placer el escuchar la lectura. Os lo aconsejamos para escucharlo en un viaje largo, paseando o realizando cualquier tarea automática: os gustará.

El joven Walter Hartright va a trasladarse a Limmeridge para dar clases de dibujo a Laura, una rica heredera, sobrina del barón Frederick Fairlie. Poco antes de dejar Londres, tropieza con una misteriosa dama vestida de blanco, que le habla de Limmeridge y de su propietaria fallecida, la señora Fairlie.

Desde el principio Walter siente una gran atracción por Laura, prometida con sir Percival Glyde, un hombre sin escrúpulos que sólo busca arrebatarle su herencia. Solo se interpone en su camino la misteriosa dama de blanco...

Esta novela de Wilkie Collins cuenta con una trama argumental magníficamente desarrollada, que envuelve al lector en una atmósfera de misterio e intriga. Conforme avanza la historia crece el ritmo narrativo y la profundidad psicológica de los personajes. Junto a otra obra de Collins, La piedra lunar, ha sido considerada por público y crítica como una de las mejores novelas de misterio de todos los tiempos.

- See more at: http://www.sonolibro.com/audiolibros/wilkie-collins/la-dama-de-blanco#sthash.8EB6VNMp.dpuf

• Idioma: Español
• Editorial: SAGA Egmont
• Fecha de lanzamiento: 6 sept 2019
• ISBN: 9788415356752

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.

Comentarios para La dama de blanco

[jruel_3 · Calificación: 2 de 5 estrellas]

Much too talkative. I may not like Victorian novels after all... Tales of Lost Women and the Evil Men who lose them, oh my!

[bookmarque · Calificación: 5 de 5 estrellas]

I'd heard good things about this book for years and now I've read it I know exactly why it's never been out of print; it's a superb, ground-breaking work. Like any novel written 150 years ago, it takes some getting used to; the writing style, the characterizations, the plot points themselves, but once you acclimate, this novel is truly a thriller worth reading. And it is a taut work despite its length. There is always something going on and the little hints and contradictions between accounts from each narrator keep you engaged.I admit that it was hard sometimes to keep my 21st century sensibilities to myself. Honestly, I couldn't see what was so attractive about Laura that kept Marian and Walter her devoted slaves. I guess being a limpid, fainting female so compliant as to have no personality of her own was the epitome of female attractions back then. Maybe both Walter and Marian just needed someone to mother, protect and control to feel like they had any value in life. The lengths they went to keep Laura completely sheltered from any whiff of reality was absurd to me and a few times I wanted to smack all three of them. But only a few times. Overall, Collins did a good job of reaching through the decades and making me feel sympathy for Laura and her plight. Then again, she was so insensible to most of it that there wasn't a lot to feel sorry for. I mean, doesn't a person have to feel the pain of her situation before anyone else can feel bad about it? Of all the players involved, we never hear from her directly so can't get a good grip on what this whole experience did to her. She was so thoroughly insulated that it probably wasn't much, like a bird that has its cage changed from one to another doesn't comprehend what's been done. I felt slightly insulted by this treatment on Laura's behalf. Hell, at least she didn't whine, I guess that's something.As far as characters went, this novel is loaded with outstanding examples. First of all the villains; Count Fosco and Sir Glyde were deliciously wicked and underhanded. Fosco is the orchestrator of all their shenanigans and must leash his friend's more overt and violent impulses. I never did understand what bound the two together in the first place, maybe just a mutual interest in decadent living and swindling folks to acquire it. Glyde's initial scam in claiming an inheritance that didn't belong to him might have been planned by Fosco himself since he seems to have gained his titles the same way, but we don't really know. Glyde is vicious, but not in the same way Fosco is vicious. Fosco maintains an air of moral superiority that is downright nauseating. And his slave wife is the same way. I wished a worse end on both of them than they received, but perhaps Collins felt he needed to pull his punch to keep his readers from having an attack of the vapors. Glyde's end, though horrifying in the extreme, lacks personalization and therefore is somewhat unsatisfying as well.Another character I quite loved was Uncle Fairlie. What a righteous old queen he was. His fussing, flightiness and willful obstinacy was a wonder to behold. Yeah, he was annoying, but provided a much needed uplift to the grinding dread and tension of the novel. It was also great to see how easily manipulated he was by everyone who came in contact with him. I did feel sorry for his valet, though. Leaving the estate to the kid in the end was a bit of a stretch given the fact that he was so uncaring about inheritance in the past. I mean, he knew that Laura's marriage settlement was a screwed up thing, but didn't care, so why should he care about some brat he'd never seen? I can't picture him bothering. It is out of character.And Marian is a mystery to me as well. Sure, Walter is smitten by a pretty, empty-headed girl as men have been for all of time and can't help slaving away over Laura, but what of Marian? Despite her outward appearance of self-assurance, she must really feel she has no chance of marriage. Or maybe the state doesn't appeal to her independent demeanor. I never got a handle on why she's content to be unofficial nanny and governess for the rest of her life. Surely if Count Fosco could find her fascinating other men could as well. Marian is a mystery to me that endures even more than Anne Catherick herself.Anne is another helpless female who engenders unchecked devotion and sacrifice by a relative stranger; a popular motif in 19th century literature. Basically cast out by her mother, Anne is repeatedly told that she's weak-minded and stupid and thus becomes those things. She's manipulated and controlled by everyone around her. When she accidentally appears to have purpose, the asylum is the best way to get rid of her inconvenient presence. Mom and Glyde can sigh with relief. I had more sympathy for Anne than for Laura because Anne seems to have known how ill-treated and manipulated she was and at least tried to get out from under. I'm glad they let her stay in her burial plot next to the only person she felt had any love for her.The plot is stunning, revealed tactically and really pulled me along through the story. A conspiracy so foul and amoral that it was staggering even in this day of heinous crime TV. To deliberately go through life making one's way by cheating, lying and stealing is pretty startling when presented so baldly. And it seems that neither Glyde nor Fosco had any real obstacles along their nefarious way. The way the scheme is revealed, first by its fact then by its repercussions is a neat device. Having each player tell his or her own piece was effective as well since not all of them knew everything everyone else knew. I liked, for example, the heated indignation of the family lawyer (I forget his name) in the face of Laura's unjust marriage settlement; he only knew the events surrounding this, but it was fascinating all the same and made the heroes seem less friendless. I also liked the housekeeper's testimony; her warped view of Fosco was wonderful and showed exactly what a crafty actor he was and how much the veneer of titles and position affected the opinions of the lower classes. Everyone seemed to be more trusting than they are now and so it's no wonder that people were taken in and conspiracies like these actually worked…at least in fiction.

[willymammoth · Calificación: 5 de 5 estrellas]

The Woman in White by Wilkie Collins is considered to be the first Mystery Novel ever written (the first mystery story in English is generally accepted to be Poe's "Murders in the Rue Morgue," but that's rather tangental). I won't go into a plot synopsis, as given the number of reviewers that have come before me, I'm sure someone did it it before me and better than I could anyway. But I will say that, because the novel was written in the 19th century, the mode of story telling may be a bit hard to adjust to for modern readers. It's an epistolary novel, meaning it's written in the form of a series of documents--letters, journals, and the like--strung together in order to tell the story. The documents come from a variety of sources and POVs, leaving it up to the reader to decide where in the midst of the varying view points lies the truth.The first half of the novel seems more akin to Victorian romance than anything. There are the rigid social constructs, a love that--however true it might be--is impossible because of this social divide. The typical thing you'd expect from a novel of this era. But the second half is where the mystery takes off, with the protagonists investigating, uncovering the villains' duplicity, and eventually exposing the truth. It was here that the book really took off from me. The first half was interesting, but it wasn't completely riveting. The second half was what made it all worth it. I found myself itching to read more, and the pages practically flew by.If you've read much from the Victorian era of literature, you can probably anticipate how the novel will end. But that doesn't make it any less fun. As I understand it, when the novel originally came out there were public readings, gatherings of friends and family as they read the novel out loud into the wee hours of the morning. They couldn't get enough of "The Woman in White." For most of today's readers, the novel probably won't grab them exactly like that. The structure of our modern mysteries is drastically different, and some mystery fans probably don't have the patience to slug it out for 200 pages to get to the really "exciting" stuff. But it is amazing how quickly you can adapt to the style and syntax, how easily you can be snared by the plot. If you're patient, you'll be amazed at what a treasure "The Woman in White" really is. It's a lesson in the history of a genre, the social constructs of a bygone era, and a plain 'ole good story.

[wanderlust_lost · Calificación: 5 de 5 estrellas]

This book was amazing. I read it in complete awe of the fact that before I received it as a gift I'd never even heard of it! It's a wonderful romantic mystery involving death, murder, betrayal, poison, mistaken identity, everything you could ask for in a Victorian mystery. Wilkie Collins is at his masterful best when it comes to this story. The style and the format makes it for extraordinarily compelling reading. The narration, as with Bram Stoker's Dracula, switches between various characters in the novel. It is written as if it were a true story and the characters were each writing about what they directly experienced, often from their diaries written a the time of the events, so as to get every detail of the "case". Almost as if they planned on presenting it in court. Because the narrator keeps changing it adds suspense because you can't say "Well, we know he makes it. He's writing this, isn't he?". :) It's brilliant! READ IT!

[vrchristensen · Calificación: 5 de 5 estrellas]

This is truly a haunting story of doppelgangers, deception, heartbreak and cruelty. And yet there is something very gentle about it as well. Collins spares nothing of his wit and satirical weaponry on the deserving, but always treats his heroes and heroines with the utmost respect. It's a complex story, and in interesting insight into marriage laws and relationships in the (middle of) the Victorian era. It's a tragedy, but with a happy ending. Wilkie Collins is truly one of my favourite authors.

[ridgewaygirl · Calificación: 5 de 5 estrellas]

This isn't a ghost story, but rather a tangled soap opera of greed and mistaken identity. The heroine of the novel isn't the mysterious woman in white, or even the hero's love interest, Laura Fairlie, but rather an independent and entirely appealing woman named Marian Halcombe. She's resourceful and intrepid and I can't think of anyone I'd rather rely on in a time of trouble. The story itself concerns Walter Hartright, a young drawing master who takes a job at Limmeridge House and there meets Miss Halcombe and Miss Fairlie. He falls in love with Miss Fairlie and, because of his lower social status, he leaves and joins a dangerous trip to South America in an attempt to forget her. Laura is married to the nefarious Sir Percival, who is, naturally, only after her money. Included in this tale is a desperate woman Walter meets one night as she escapes from a mental asylum and whose fate is tied to Laura's. There's also a colorful Italian Count, who is the most interesting and villainous of men. And present every step of the story is Miss Halcombe, who protects Miss Fairlie, solves the mystery, fascinates the Italian Count, thwarts the bad guys and keeps Walter Hartright pointed in the right direction. There's something to be said for those wordy, Victorian authors. The Woman in White is the most suspenseful novel I have read in a long time. Wilkie Collins takes his time setting the scene, and then he slowly increases the tension, never allowing the reader the easy satisfaction of a quick resolution. Rather, the reader endures what the characters must; long moments of uncertainty, hours trapped without knowing if all was yet lost. It is a credit to Collins' writing that this strategy stands the test of time. Even in our era of instant gratification, I was more than willing to allow this book to hijack my days.

[janesteen_1 · Calificación: 5 de 5 estrellas]

Where I got the book: public domain freebie on Kindle.This is one of those novels I've been promising myself I'd read for years. I was expecting a really creepy ghost story, but what I got surprised me. The plot: this is one of those Victorian novels told through a series of documents, with several narrators giving their accounts of the tale. Drawing teacher Walter Hartright has a nighttime encounter with a woman in white, and later learns that she has escaped from an asylum. By an amazing coincidence (in true Victorian fashion, the plot depends on many unlikely coincidences) he is summoned to the north of England to teach drawing to a young woman, Laura, who bears a striking resemblance to the woman in white and who is engaged to a much older man, Sir Percival Glyde. Laura and Walter fall in love, and Walter does the honorable thing and takes himself out of the picture as he is clearly too poor and socially inferior to marry an heiress. Walter's cause is espoused by Laura's half-sister, Marian Halcombe, who later joins Laura and her new husband as they set up house with creepy Italian Count Fosco, whose wife is Laura's aunt. The woman in white remains at large and continues to warn Walter (when he returns from the obligatory Dangerous Overseas Journey), Marian and Laura about Sir Percival's and the Count's evil intentions.Despite (or because of?) the inevitable Victorian tics of overly long descriptions, melodramatic touches and Amazing Coincidences, I found this to be a cracking good story. I was surprised to detect a feminist side to Collins; he is clearly sympathetic to the plight of the middle-to-upper-class Victorian woman, who either had to marry, often against her own inclination (Laura) or remain a spinster dependent on others for a home (Marian). I do wish, though, that Collins had not been quite so Victorian about the two women; he clearly portrays Laura as the only marriageable one of the two sisters because she is fair, delicate and doll-like where Marian is strong-featured (ugly, thinks Walter when he sees her) and strong-willed and therefore DOOMED to remain unmarried.Alas, Laura comes across as wishy-washy while Marian is a superb Victorian heroine: resourceful, intelligent, kind and generous. Even though she is ready to take action on Laura's behalf, though, Marian is true to her time in her belief that they can accomplish nothing without the support of a Man of pretty much any description. A bit frustrating for a modern female reader, but there it is. Collins does a much better job than his contemporary and friend Dickens of portraying the sad truth of the female condition; I can't help feeling that (unlike Dickens, who is a thoroughgoing misogynist at heart), Collins really likes women and is keen to portray them well. With the exception of the Count (whose real gloriousness as a villain is, intriguingly, seen mostly through Marian's eyes) the really interesting people in this novel are the women. I found The Woman in White to be quite a page-turner by the end, with reasonably intricate plotting that never became too convoluted to follow. I'm glad I read it, and wonder why I waited so long.

[bobrudge · Calificación: 4 de 5 estrellas]

Enjoyable, though flawed, book which a greatly enjoyed reading. There are some excellent reviws on this site already so I'll simply add some points which I have not seen as often mentioned by others.Firstly, I most won over by the intelligence of the Marian. It is always frustrating in a book when the virtuous are blind to the machinations of the villans. So while we, as readers, are well aware that what appears to happening is being done for an ulterior motive, the good guys blindly wander on. it was, therefore, extremely pleasing that Marian keeps right up with the reader as the plot begins to unfold in the middle third of the book.The attitudes to women are tiresome but I guess they have to be accepted as an unfortunate reflection of the contemporary prejudices. Fosco is a quite superb character and Mr Fairley is perhaps the most annoying man to grace the pages of any book.The last third lost my interest a little. The incident with the fire seemed incongruous the 'secret' has lost much of its social potency over the 150 years since publication. The lengthy coda to the story after the fire as unduly long added little that any reasonable reader had not inferred from the previous 450 pages.

[aapjebaapje · Calificación: 5 de 5 estrellas]

A wonderful gothic novel with so many twists and turns that it was impossible to guess the plt before the last pages. Really enjoyable - I'd recomment it to anyone.

[brokenspines · Calificación: 5 de 5 estrellas]

In music, all I want is melody; in literature, all I want is plot. The Woman in White delivers plot by the carraige load. It's a terrific read with suspense on every page. I admire Wilkie for being respectful of a reader's incapacity to remember every detail, character and occurrence. He repeats things you need to know but may have forgotten.I agree with all that has been written about Laura's insipidity. Walter should have been pursuing a woman like Marion. Poor Marion. She ends up with no one and gets to be described as "ugly." Collins should have found a kinder word. The uncle, Mr. Fairlie, is annoying but richly drawn. One character says of him: Getting married and fathering a child is the last thing that is likely to happen to him. So, he's gay, but in 19th century England, Collns couldn't say that. Too bad the plot is just too complicated to fit into a standard movie. The BBC film version I watched after reading the novel used some of the main action but rewrote the whole story. All the fun was lost.

[1morechapter · Calificación: 5 de 5 estrellas]

This book took me a loooong time to read, but I'm really glad I read it. It is so well-written and a really good mystery. I did guess some of the plot elements, but I still was very engrossed and wanted to keep reading to make sure my guesses were correct.The "woman in white" is Anne Catherick, who has escaped from an asylum and knows, or think she knows, a Secret about a nobleman. This nobleman wants to marry Laura Fairlie, but she is in love with her art instructor, Walter Hartwright. Marian Holcomb is Laura's half-sister and is always looking out for Laura's interests. The two are inseparable. Will Laura marry the nobleman--Percival Glyde--the man her father wanted her to marry? Or will she marry Walter Hartwright, the love of her life? Who is really after her money? Is Count Fosco just a charming foreigner or a "foreign spy"? Whose interests is he looking after? These questions and more will be answered when you embark on this wonderfully written gothic tale--a classic mystery that should be read by all.

[helenliz_1 · Calificación: 5 de 5 estrellas]

 I really liked this. The story is told by the various protagonists as they take part in the story, which makes it more like listening to a story being told. At times it is a little predictable, but the unravelling more than makes up for it. Some great characters that really capture the imagination and a most haunting atmosphere make for a good read.

[werebot_1 · Calificación: 3 de 5 estrellas]

If you want creepy, there's a lot better out there. Try M.R. James, J.S. LeFanu, Henry James.

[terrib_54 · Calificación: 5 de 5 estrellas]

Strongly developed characters, intricate and well developed plot, clever use of narrative, and wonderfully suspenseful. All of these elements, plus the social critique that runs throughout, kept me reading this 600+ page book. The Victorian melodrama was a bit much, but the positives more than compensated for my low tolerance for melodrama.Favorite quote: "The best men are not consistent in good -- why should the worst men be consistent in evil?"This quote refers to the villainous Count Fosco, one of the most disturbing characters in literature.

[stacyz_5 · Calificación: 4 de 5 estrellas]

enjoyable read! unique story telling using multiple narrators, each revealing a new piece of the puzzle.  lots of twists and turns in the plot make it a page turner.

[michellech_1 · Calificación: 5 de 5 estrellas]

Ok. Amazing.

I must confess that initially I had thought that this would be a ghost story. The title is very mysterious and the cover made the woman in white appear ethereal. Generally I try to not read too much about a book before I begin. I like to just let it unfold as I read.

Anyway, despite my initial misconception, I loved this book. It had a great build-up, amazing characterizations, and the "just right" ending.

It is told in pieces from varying viewpoints which give it the flavor of individual perception. As in real life we all 'think' we know what we saw but is it really what occured? I enjoyed being in the shoes of different observers as I tried to piece together what was happening. Also, I must say that when I read a passage written in the diary of one of the main characters by an outide person, I got tremendous goosebumps.

The novel begins with an art teacher, Walter Hartright who comes to the home of a Ms. Fairlie to instruct her in drawing techniques. This Ms. Fairlie is pretty darn fair so there is love in the air; but unfortunately she is to be wed to a Sir Percival. Her half-sister Marian is there to watch the flame between the two grow but advises that the proper course must be taken and Mr. Hartright is soon sent on his way. After his departure things become complicated. Sir Percival is too good to be true and has some Jerry Springerish things lurking in his closet. Hartright goes into the deepest darkest locations to try and forget his true love and we meet one of the best characters ever, Count Fosco.

For the longest time I couldn't tell if Fosco was the good or bad guy. But that in my opinion is what makes a good story. Fosco was such an oxymoron and very complex. He truly made most of the story and it was a worthwhile endeavor getting to know him.

I love how Collins sneaks in bits that are subtle but say a whole heck of a lot. I don't need everything spelled out for me and I enjoy a writer who can trust his readers to interpret as they wish.

Another observation is how delicate women were percieved to be at the time. The smallest emotional discomfort could set your health back for weeks. Thankfully Marian, for the most part, broke that mold. She was strong and smart!

Collins is the master of mystery in this book. I read the book and also listened to it on Librovox. This is the first time I have tried this approach with a book and I must say that it really worked in terms of getting a more complete experience of Collin's writing. A great experience and I enjoyed every page.

[sandilee_1 · Calificación: 3 de 5 estrellas]

I thought this book was just alright while I was reading it, but it really stuck with me afterwards, not the mystery so much as the characters. The supporting characters are particularly interesting.

[robble_1 · Calificación: 5 de 5 estrellas]

This novel was hard to get into at first but well worth the reading as it had adventure, spies, and a romantic setting. Wilkie Collins, the father of the mystery novel, was a literary genius!

[donna828 · Calificación: 4 de 5 estrellas]

I have spent the past week with this wonderful wordy trip back in time. The book created quite a sensation when it was released in serialization (hence the wordiness) both in England and the U.S. in 1859. It grabbed my attention with the first line: "This is the story of what a woman's patience can endure, and what a man's resolution can achieve." I find it interesting that Collins begins with the characteristics of women and men because I have a bone to pick with Mr. C. Why on earth does he have to portray Laura Fairlie as beautiful, though spineless and witless in contrast to her half-sister Marian Halcombe who is homely while being spunky, engaging, and bright? Or as Walter Hartright noted to himself at their first meeting: the lady is dark, the lady is young, "the lady is ugly."Now I really liked this book, just did not care for the way the women were denigrated. Other than the brilliant Marian, the only intelligent female in the book was Nina the Greyhound who uncharacteristically growled at Sir Percival. Well, maybe I can forgive the treatment of women because of the smattering of humor. Uncle Fairlie's exaggerated pomposity and drama had me laughing out loud.As to plot, let's just say that it is a dark tale of thwarted love, greed, and suspense. I loved the eerieness of the ghost-like Woman In White, and was almost disappointed when her identity was revealed. It seemed like the details of the conspiracy and the mystery of the Secret was too contrived and plodding. Hint: any time the word "secret" is capitalized in a book, its revelation will be a let-down.My edition of this book is 617 pages. Now if that is all the fault I can find with it, you can see that 95% of this book was totally engaging. I have The Moonstone queued up to read later this year.

[ncgraham_1 · Calificación: 5 de 5 estrellas]

The Woman in White was my favorite read of 2010. (And it’s high time I got around to writing a review of it!)I had a feeling I would like the book from just the preface.I have always held the old-fashioned opinion that the primary object of a work of fiction should be to tell a story; and I have never believed that the novelist who properly performed this first condition of his art was in danger, on that account, of neglecting the delineation of character....What’s this, Wilkie? Story? Character? Are you telling me that the point of writing isn’t the creation of artistic effects? The flaunting of one’s stylistic virtuosity? The use of obscurity to simulate profundity? How ... refreshing.The Woman in White is a good old-fashioned story, told with directness, clarity, and force—but also, it may be said, a good deal of talent. Collins was clearly a master of his craft. I will not say much about the plot, because I do not want to spoil anything for new readers. It is labyrinthine, sometimes bewildering, full of twists and turns. And it is positively engrossing, so engrossing that I read it in only a week, while still working and taking college classes—and it is not a short book!One of the things that impressed me about the book was Collins’s ability to create distinct narrative voices. Many authors attempt this, and few truly succeed. Walter’s introductory description of “the weary pilgrims of the London pavement … beginning to think of the cloud-shadows on the corn-fields” drips with a Romanticism and love of nature that none of the other narrators could muster—certainly not Mr. Gilmore, the lawyer given to aphorism: “There are three things that none of the young men of the present generation can do. They can’t sit over their wine, they can’t play at whist, and they can’t pay a lady a compliment.”What is really at work here is Collins’s genius for character, and there are some great characters in The Woman in White. Most notable are the unconventional heroine, Marian Halcolmbe, and the dastardly Count Fosco. Some readers take exception to Marian’s equation of weakness with femininity, and the fact that her strength of character is, like Dracula’s Mina Harker, supposedly due to the fact that she has (to quote Stoker) “a man’s brain and a woman’s heart.” But Mina is a doofus who contributes nothing aside from some nice secretarial work, whereas Marian braves countless dangers to solve the mystery of Anne Catherick and thwart the villains’ schemes. As to her supposed weaknesses, methinks the lady doth protest too much.Fosco is a sinister yet charming villain, a larger-than-life figure who leaps off the page. In many ways he is the original of The Maltese Falcon’s Fat Man. Indeed, there seems to be a 1948 film in which Sydney Greenstreet plays the Count; I imagine he is brilliant.Even if you do not think Victorian fiction is your thing, I recommend The Woman in White, a true page-turner with a fine literary pedigree.

[tineoliver_1 · Calificación: 5 de 5 estrellas]

My mother bought this book for me - I'd never heard of Wilkie Collins until she did, but one of the most thoughtful gifts I've ever been given.I read all 600 pages of this book in 3 days before and after work - I did not want to put it down! Admittedly Laura is probably one of the weakest female characters I've ever come across and some of the twists aren't all that unexpected, but I just kept wanting to know the end to find out whether the deductions I'd made throughout the story were correct!I'll certainly be looking for more Collins over the next few months - an absolute pioneer of the 'sensationalist genre'. If you like Sir Conan Doyle, I highly recommend the Woman in White.In a word: Enthralling

[ursula_2 · Calificación: 4 de 5 estrellas]

The Woman in White was published in 1860 and is one of the first mystery novels. It's told by a variety of narrators according to who was actually involved in whatever part of the story. As is to be expected, some of them know more than others, and some are more reliable than others.The story centers around Laura Fairlie and her half-sister, Marian Halcombe. The first narrator, Walter Hartwright, is hired as their drawing master and in short order falls in love with the beautiful Laura. Alas, she is betrothed to another, the suspicious Sir Percival. Originally, the suspicions about Sir Percival come from the title woman, who Walter meets along a lonely road. It turns out that she had escaped from an asylum, but she insists she doesn't belong there.Of course, there are many twists and turns and connections and theories to be investigated when things all start going terribly wrong. The story being told by various people means the reader goes along for the ride, sometimes guessing where the path will lead, sometimes being led astray. I found it generally quite entertaining, although I found the last couple of sections the most difficult to get through. I guess that's just the nature of the beast - the fun is in the chase, not in the wrapping up.

[urduha_1 · Calificación: 3 de 5 estrellas]

I have the same complaint here as I do in my review of Collins' No Name, that strong women do not seem to get too far in Collins' world. The story is entertaining and well crafted, but the plot leaves me dissatisfied. I have a feeling that I would have really disliked Wilkie Collins if I knew him personally.

[deltaqueen50 · Calificación: 4 de 5 estrellas]

An epistolary novel, The Woman in White by Wilkie Collins is told in many voices. Using diaries, journals, written statements and letters the story unfolds with each different narrator having their own tone and style. Originally published in 1859 in serial form, it is widely considered to be among the first mystery novels published. In order to avoid spoilers, I am not going to describe the plot in any great detail. It is intricate, well thought out and presented in an original way. I admit it took me almost the first hundred pages to really get into the story. I found the first narrator’s tone overly sentimental and flowery, but as other narrator’s took over, and the story was revealed layer by layer, I found myself quite absorbed and captivated by this book.Wilkie Collins gives us a handful of characters, both true to their time yet original. A couple really stood out to me, Marian Halcombe, with no real rights of her own, destined to spinsterhood, yet independent of nature, brave and extremely protective of her sister. Also the sinister Count Fosco, the arrogant, controlling foreigner, whom both Marian and her sister call a “Monster” is one of the best drawn villains I have ever read about.The Woman in White is a Victorian Melodrama of the highest order, and I enjoyed my time spent lost in it’s pages.

[krazy4katz · Calificación: 5 de 5 estrellas]

If my memory is correct, this is the best mystery story I have ever read! It was with real pain that I put it down every night to go to sleep. Lots of twists and turns -- my first guess at one of the mysteries was totally wrong. It was not humorous in the way Sherlock Holmes' or Agatha Christie's stories are. This is a much more involved, serious book, although there are plenty of light moments. It took a couple of chapters to get used to the style, but actually, the prose is quite beautiful. Since most of the characters write at least one chapter in the book, they have real depth. I appreciated that Wilkie Collins - as a man - seemed to have a lot of sympathy for the lack of freedom experienced by women living in the 19th century. I will definitely read more of his books!

[theboylatham_1 · Calificación: 1 de 5 estrellas]

Five out of ten. eBook.

Features Marian Halcombe and her sleuthing partner, drawing master Walter Hartright, pitted against the diabolical team of Count Fosco and Sir Percival Glyde.

Predictable after about 10 pages.

[voracious_reader_1 · Calificación: 3 de 5 estrellas]

I enjoyed the [Woman in White] by [[Wilkie Collins]], but didn’t completely fall in love with it. The last 100 pages dragged. My impression is probably fueled by my 21st century mind which is accustomed to the summing up of a mystery much more quickly than Victorian sensibilities permitted. Collins tells of an artist who falls in love with a woman of superior rank; she and a woman of lowly means—the woman in white— fall victim to a series of evil schemes; the artist and the brilliant Ms. Halcombe, half-sister to the woman of superior rank, right all the wrongs. The story is broken into pieces with each piece being told by a different character. It’s supposed to be like a court case where different portions of testimony, i.e., narrative to one event, would be given by different witnesses. For its time it was probably quite daring. I fell in love with the character of Marian Halcombe and wish that Marian could have found love with her equal, but there was no Mr. Darcy in the cards for this Ms. Bennett.

[bkmcneil · Calificación: 5 de 5 estrellas]

Fantastic (in both senses of the word) and compelling. One of the best villians in British literature.

[ljbwell · Calificación: 5 de 5 estrellas]

A young artist is hired by hypochondriac Frederick Fairlie to teach his niece, Laura Fairlie, and step-niece, Marian Halcombe, art. While the delicate Laura and the clever and headstrong Marian could not be more different, they are devoted half-sisters. Laura is engaged to Sir Percival Glyde, a marriage she looks even less forward to when she realises she has feelings for her art teacher Walter Hartright. Meanwhile, Hartright has encountered a mysterious and nervous woman in white who, it unfolds, has escaped from an Asylum, and has a disturbing message delivered to Laura Fairlie. Things go from bad to worse when Laura marries Glyde. Rounding out the key characters are the sinisterly charming Italian Count Fosco and his wife, Laura's disinherited aunt.What ensues is a soap-operatic, frenzied series of events complete with mystery, paranoia, secrets, machinations, clandestine meetings, sneaking around, deaths, twists and turns, unrequited love, revenge, and more. It is important to remember, in its original form, this was a serialized work. That Collins and Charles Dickens were friends should come as no surprise either. Marian in particular can be a frustrating character - she's at once independent and constantly (bemoaning? highlighting?) her inherent feminine weaknesses. But while it is dated in this sense (and others), it is also wonderfully overwrought and tense and a fine, entertaining read.

[smiler69 · Calificación: 5 de 5 estrellas]

Walter Hartright, a young art teacher walking on the road from Hampstead to London, is startled when he is overtaken by a young woman dressed entirely in white. Visibly distressed, she begs him to show her the way to London, and he offers to take her there. The young woman accepts his offer on the condition that he allow her freedom of movement. Once he's dropped her off in London, two men in hot pursuit claim that the young woman has escaped a mental asylum and must be returned there at once, but Walter does nothing to help them in their search. The next day he arrives at Limmeridge House, where he has gained a position as a drawing master. There he meets his young pupils, half sisters Marian and Laura. In no time at all, her befriends Marian—no great beauty is she, but quick, smart and amusing—and falls desperately in love with the heavenly loveliness that is Laura. But the encounter with the woman in white will carry many consequences. I took absolute delight in discovering all the plot twists of this great classic mystery, so will disclose no more of the story nor of how it is told, but will say that it offers a wonderfully evil conspiracy and several highly memorable characters, not least of which the strange and compelling villain Count Fosco, who stole every scene in which he appeared, in my view. The sublimely selfish Frederick Fairlie is one of the most memorable invalids I have ever encountered. I must say that the audio version I listened to, narrated by Simon Prebble and Josephine Bailey, greatly increased my enjoyment with wonderfully rendered characters. Now that I've read it and that there are no more secrets for me to discover, I still look forward to reading it again for a fun romp with highly colourful characters and some Gothic frissons.