Reviews with content warning for Forced institutionalization - The Woman in White

I didn't know what this book was about when I decided to read it. I had no idea it was a mystery or that I would enjoy as much as I did.

My only problems with this book are the ones I have with older books like this and it's mainly the way women are portrayed and treated. But, as I said I understand because of the time period. My other problem with older books like this is the rambling aspect. Two chapters of nothing but explanations and useless rambling could in all reality fit on 1 page.

Despite the few issues I had, I rather actually enjoyed the two part mystery. Mystery one of who is the Woman in White is and later on the mystery involving Laura Fairlie were both on their own interesting but the way the author combined them was very well done. You have characters you like/love and characters you absolutely hate (if you read it you know who I mean) and it's done in a way that you have a real reason for disliking them.

Anther problem I had with he book was some of the revels. I felt very confused by a couple of the big revels and had to look up what was actually happening because the language and hidden meaning completely flew past me.

I would recommend the audiobook. The narrator has a soothing voice that is honestly perfect for the story in my opinion.

Content Warnings

jos17's review against another edition

Go to review page

mysterious slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.0

If 50% of the flowery language had been removed, I think this book would’ve been at least 30% shorter, something it would’ve benefited from.

I didn’t care about Walter’s love and only really got interested in the story after he left it. After that, I kept losing interest when things inevitably dragged on before a new plot point was introduced. Also, while the ending was more or less what I’d hoped for, I wasn’t exactly satisfied—maybe because it took too long to get there?

Content Warnings

lilytucker's review

Go to review page

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

Content Warnings

pedanther's review against another edition

Go to review page

adventurous dark mysterious tense slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated

4.25

Content Warnings

ceallaighsbooks's review

Go to review page

adventurous challenging dark emotional funny hopeful mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

“Most extraordinary,” said Miss Halcombe. “I should not have thought it possible that any of the boys had imagination enough to see a ghost.”
“Eh!—but I saw t’ ghaist,’ persisted Jacob Postlethwaite, with a stare of terror and a burst of tears.
“Come!” she said; “I mean to know all about this. You naughty boy, when did you see the ghost!”
“Yerster’een, at the gloaming,” replied Jacob. “Arl in white—as a ghaist should be… Away yander, in t’ kirkyard—where a ghaist ought to be. T’ ghaist of Mistress Fairlie.”

TITLE—The Woman in White

AUTHOR—Wilkie Collins

PUBLISHED—1860

GENRE—gothic literature; “sensation novel”; epistolary format in multiple POVs

SETTING—Victorian era England

MAIN THEMES/SUBJECTS—mental illness, lunacy & institutionalization; misogyny & Patriarchal oppression & manipulation; Romanticism; female agency; oneiromancy (dream prophecy/divination); epistolary format; commentary on human nature

WRITING STYLE—⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

CHARACTERS—⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

STORY/PLOT—⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

BONUS ELEMENT/S—Reading this parallel to John Harwood’s The Seance was a stroke of excellent luck! Highly recommend!

PHILOSOPHY—⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

“I saw darkly what the nature of the conspiracy had been; how chances had been watched, and how circumstances had been handled to ensure impunity to a daring and an intricate crime.”

Whew this is a long one, but quite readable! Once I got the hang of the Victorian writing style (which isn’t my usual thing) I enjoyed the book immensely and couldn’t put it down. There is something about Collins’s writing style that is a little humorous, almost tongue-in-cheek feeling in spite of the heavy, tense topics and plot.

I loved the political undertones of the writing and his characters were phenomenal: incredibly unique and visceral representations of truly complex people who are at once very realistic and relatable and also a bit unusual and in some cases a bit larger-than-life seeming. Marian Halcombe was an easy favorite but Walter Hartright was also very lovable and Fosco and Mr. Fairlie were just entertaining AF—oh and Mrs. Catherick! Usually when secondary characters—especially villains—like that “have their say” in epistolary narratives or multiple POV narratives I get a little bored with the story but Fosco’s, Mr. Fairlie’s, and Mrs. Catherick’s POVs ended up being some of my favorite parts of the book. They are also the characters that seemed a bit larger than life—flamboyant, but without the modern connotations of that word. 😅 (I actually read that the character Fosco from this book was the source of Oscar Wilde’s Oxford days nickname as well. 😂 Love that. ❤️)

<SPOILER>I also loved how the build up to the climaxes and endings belied the reality of what the actual situation of the story was, though hidden from the reader (and the characters, mostly). It was such a trip of the imagination to speculate about Percival’s “Secret” and the reason behind Mrs. Catherick’s complicity and Anne’s fate etc. etc. and then when all is revealed it’s as though Collins is saying: What? These are humans. What did you expect? As chaotic as the events in the narrative are and how often they bordered on the extreme—indeed, even the supernatural at times?—in the end it was all down to just very much the simple reality of human nature.</SPOILER>

Honestly I’m still kind of surprised this book was written by a Victorian English cishet man. Obviously a very liberal-minded man as any bestie of Dickens is likely to be but wow. He depicted the true horror of the Patriarchy in a way that I just wouldn’t have guessed a man of that era would have truly seen let alone understood. Props, my dude.

Overall a really satisfying read both in terms of the story, the characters, the philosophy, and the deeper commentaries on human nature.

“Our endurance must end, and our resistance must begin, to-day.”

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

TW // graphic, upsetting dog death; all the usual sort of offensive content in English classic literature: fatphobia, misogyny, gaslighting, xenophobia, racism, classism (Please feel free to DM me for more specifics!)

Further Reading—

The Seance, by John Harwood (actually a loose retelling of TWIW)
The Seven and a Half Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle, by Stuart Turton—for the multiple POVs and colorful characters
Great Expectations, by Charles Dickens
Bleak House, by Charles Dickens—TBR
The Moonstone, by Wilkie Collins—TBR
Armadale, by Wilkie Collins—TBR
Corpse Bride, by Tim Burton & Danny Elfman (2005 film)

Content Warnings

More...