"The Woman in White" by Wilkie Collins

The short synopsis on the back of my copy of this book labels the story as one of the first "horror" novels. That description was not what I had seen before and so I was a little leery about starting it because I DO NOT READ SCARY BOOKS!!! I ordered this book a few months ago after having a long-time interest in reading a Wilkie Collins novel because I had read or heard somewhere that he wrote some of the first suspense and mystery novels. Thankfully this latter description is more appropriate - the novel was not grotesque and scary, but it was indeed suspenseful. This book is also one of the first attempts at writing a story from the vantage point of a few different characters - something that is done very commonly nowadays.

Without giving away too much of the plot, the story centers around Walter Hartright, an art teacher; two half sisters, Marian Halcombe and Laura Fairlie; an evil Italian Count with the surname Fosco and the dangerous Sir Percival Glyde; and of course the elusive "woman in white," a woman whose past and present seems to intermingle with the rest of the cast of characters.

Walter Hartright is sent to teach drawing to the two sisters, Marian and Laura, in Cumberland. Before ending up there he comes across a mysterious woman in white, who, after some investigation, find out that she has some ties to Laura and Marian. Later, Laura marries Sir Percival Glyde, a man who is at least 20 years her senior, and who has ulterior motives with the money she brings into the marriage. A very lucky coincidence (for the bad guys) makes it possible for a plot to dis-inherit Laura and leave her without friends and family to support her. Sort of an early version of identity theft.

The remainder of the story takes the reader on a journey as Walter Hartright, Laura and Marian work to reinstate Laura's identity. Figuring out a dark secret in Sir Glyde's past seems to be the key and the reader is left in great anticipation trying to figure it out.

I will admit, the book is very long but I found it interesting to read and had a difficult time putting it down. The ending was a bit unusual compared to contemporary mysteries. The wicked Count Fosco doesn't quite get it in the end by the story's cast of heroes, but instead gets his just desserts by other means. The end of the story took a long time to wrap up and I was sadly disappointed with Sir Percival Glyde's fate - I'll just leave it at that. I would not have been as nice.

As it was one of many "firsts," I am being a little easy and giving this book four **** stars. It was interesting to read, quite suspenseful and I really enjoyed the character of Marian Halcombe. My only real disappointment was the ending but I tried to be understanding because it was a pseudo-original idea. I hope to read Moonstone, another of Wilkie Collins mysteries, in the near future.