I sometimes complain that good solid storytelling doesn’t seem to be a priority for modern writers. Experimental writing style, alternative punctuation, clever word plays and weird structures may have their time and place. But quite often, all I want is a thoroughly good story.

The Woman in White is a thoroughly good story. Admittedly, the length of 672 pages (25 hours on audio) made me hesitate to pick it up. But I needn’t have worried. I flew through this book and only the last concluding section dragged a bit. There was drama, love, despair, scandal, greed, mystery, super villains, hidden motives and heroic actions. And in true Victorian fashion they all got what they deserved in the end. I won’t go further into the plot. If possible, you should read it without any prior knowledge. Trust me, you are in for a ride.

The characters are well drawn and engaging. The young poor Walter is a rather non-distinctive hero, but he is sympathetic and shows character development over the course of the novel.

More interesting are the two half-sisters, Marian and Laura, between whom a strong bond exists. Marian is intelligent, strong and resourceful, whereas Laura is delicate and helpless, with no discernible talent or wits. In a critical mood I might have commented on the fact that the strong intelligent female is given the unfortunate characteristic of being distinctly ugly, whereas the delicate, helpless female is described as feminine and stunningly beautiful. But we’ll let that one go for now. And I’ll leave it to you to guess, which sister our young hero falls in love with.

The antagonist Sir Percival Glyde comes with a sidekick, Count Fosco, which is an interesting choice. Having a duo gives a different dynamic. Overhearing puzzling snippets between the two contributes to the sense of dread. And Count Fosco is an intriguing character, probably my favourite in the novel. Is he a villain who supports his friend? Or is he secretly on the side of the ladies? Which of the two has the power to dominate the other? To single out an overweight Italian with mice creeping around on his body as a favourite might sound like an unusual choice. But I adore multi-facetted characters and the count certainly has a good deal of charm. Interestingly, he also has a soft spot for one of the sisters (again, I’ll leave it to you to guess which one).

Finally, the sisters’ uncle, Fredrick Fairlie, provides a bit of comic relief. He reminded me of a male version of Mrs. Bennett from Pride and Prejudice. With drama and egotism he prefers to take to his bed instead of taking action in times of crisis.

‘In one moment, every drop of blood in my body was brought to a stop… There, as if it had that moment sprung out of the earth, stood the figure of a solitary Woman, dressed from head to foot in white’

The quote above perfectly demonstrates the writing style, which is dramatic, descriptive and quite wordy. I enjoyed it, but I can see it may not be everyone’s cup of tea.

All in all, I found The Woman in White a fun and exceedingly well-plotted novel with a great set of characters. I gasped, I laughed and enjoyed myself through 25 hours of audiobook, which doesn’t happen often. And yes, it may be the equivalent of a Victorian soap-opera, but I mean this in the best possible way.

Title: The Woman in White [1859 - 1860] 
Author: Wilkie Collins
Format: Audiobook, narrated by Ian Holm
Genre: Classics

Wilkie Collins has often been named as one of the early inspirations for The Mystery Genre, Detective Fiction as well as Sensation novels. Quite a feat. The Woman in White is together with The Moonstone Collins’ best known works. It was first published in serialised format in Charles Dickens’ magazine All the Year Round.

The novel is number 90 on BBC’s list of The 100 greatest British novels.