27 h 51 minAudiobook2 minSummaryRead it, hear it, the 15-minute summary, and print and large print at cost
Audiobook edition · 27 h 51 minPaperback · 6 × 9 in · printing soonHardcover · 6 × 9 in · printing soonAbout this book
A frightened woman steps onto a road near London, and a drawing teacher’s life turns toward secrets, danger, and love.
In Wilkie Collins’s The Woman in White, Walter Hartright stops to help a stranger dressed entirely in white. Soon he meets Laura Fairlie, a young heiress who looks strikingly like her, and Laura’s determined half-sister, Marian Halcombe. The stranger, Anne Catherick, fears the man Laura is promised to marry: Sir Percival Glyde.
Anne’s warnings cast a shadow over Laura’s future. Sir Percival wants access to her fortune, while his charming friend Count Fosco has a disturbing gift for manipulation. Through Walter’s account, Marian’s diary, and other voices, you piece together a case in which money, marriage, and control threaten a woman’s safety and identity.
What you’ll discover
- A stranger’s troubling warning Follow Anne Catherick’s fear into questions that polite society would rather leave unanswered.
- A sister who resists Meet Marian Halcombe, whose sharp observations and determination challenge the men threatening Laura.
- Charm with a darker purpose Watch Count Fosco combine social ease with calculation, making every friendly gesture feel uncertain.
- A case to piece together Connect diaries, accounts, documents, and omissions as each voice reveals another part of the mystery.
- Marriage under a shadow Explore how money and marriage leave Laura vulnerable to another person’s power over her life.
Who will love it
For readers who love tense investigations, sinister country houses, clever villains, and women resisting powerful men.
What’s inside
The key ideas, in the 15-minute summary
- Walter encounters a mysterious woman in white
- Walter falls for an already engaged heiress
- Warnings cast doubt on Laura’s engagement
- Money and manipulation threaten Laura and Marian
- Several accounts reveal a struggle over truth
Who’s who
- Walter HartrightA drawing teacher whose love for Laura draws him into an investigation of deception and abuse.
- Marian HalcombeLaura’s observant, determined half-sister challenges the men who threaten her safety.
- Laura FairlieA young heiress whose promised marriage leaves her vulnerable to control over her money and identity.
- Anne CatherickThe frightened woman in white has a connection to Laura’s family and fears Sir Percival Glyde.
- Sir Percival GlydeLaura’s prospective husband conceals secrets and presses for access to her fortune.
- Count FoscoSir Percival’s charming, calculating friend combines social ease with a disturbing talent for manipulation.
Formats and delivery
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- Large-print eBook
- The same book in bigger, clearer type, from the first page.
- Audiobook
- 27 h 51 min, complete, read by Lucas Linden.
- 15-minute summary
- The key ideas in about 2 minutes, to read or to hear.
- Paperback
- 6 × 9 in. Printing soon: leave your email under Paperback or Hardcover above.
- Hardcover
- 6 × 9 in. Printing soon: leave your email under Paperback or Hardcover above.
- Large print paperback
- 8.5 × 11 in. Printing soon: leave your email under Paperback or Hardcover above.
- Large print hardcover
- 8.5 × 11 in. Printing soon: leave your email under Paperback or Hardcover above.
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La mujer de blanco
by Wilkie Collins · 1859
A drawing teacher meets a frightened woman on a dark road and is drawn into a plot against a young heiress.
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In short
The Woman in White by Wilkie Collins is a mystery novel about a drawing teacher whose encounter with a frightened stranger draws him into a plot against a young heiress. Readers still turn to it for its tense investigation, memorable suspects, and sharp sense of how money and marriage can put a woman at another person’s mercy.
From the 15-minute summary · Key idea 1
Walter encounters a mysterious woman in white
Walter Hartright is walking home near London when a woman dressed entirely in white appears on the road and asks for help. Her fear and strange manner trouble him. Soon afterward, he learns that she has escaped from an asylum. Their brief meeting follows him into a new job as a drawing teacher at Limmeridge House in Cumberland.
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Who is the woman in white?
The woman Walter meets is Anne Catherick, a frightened fugitive from an asylum. She has ties to Limmeridge House and closely resembles Laura Fairlie. Her fear of Sir Percival Glyde makes her encounter with Walter central to the mystery.
Is The Woman in White a detective story or a Gothic novel?
It combines both, and is often called a sensation novel. Its search for evidence, competing witness accounts, and careful reconstruction of events also make it an important early mystery novel.
Why is Marian Halcombe important?
Marian is Laura’s strongest defender and one of the novel’s main investigators. Her diary records the growing danger at Blackwater Park. She relies on observation, courage, and practical judgment in a society that gives men much greater legal and financial power.
The author
Wilkie Collins
1824–1889 · English mystery novelist
Wilkie Collins was a British novelist and playwright born in London in 1824. He lived mainly in London and died there in 1889. His novels include The Woman in White (1859–1860), The Moonstone (1868), The Law and the Lady (1875), and The Black Robe (1881).
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