The Woman in White Illustrated edition by Wilkie Collins Literature Fiction eBooks
Download As PDF : The Woman in White Illustrated edition by Wilkie Collins Literature Fiction eBooks 
How is this book unique?
- 15 Illustrations are included
- Short Biography is also included
- Original & Unabridged Edition
- Tablet and e-reader formatted
- Best fiction books of all time
- One of the best books to read
- One of the best mystery novels
- Bestselling contemporary fiction for women
The Woman in White is Wilkie Collins' fifth published novel, written in 1859. It is considered to be among the first mystery novels and is widely regarded as one of the first (and finest) in the genre of "sensation novels".
The story is sometimes considered an early example of detective fiction with the hero, Walter Hartright, employing many of the sleuthing techniques of later private detectives. The use of multiple narrators draws on Collins's legal training, and as he points out in his Preamble "the story here presented will be told by more than one pen, as the story of an offence against the laws is told in Court by more than one witness". In 2003, Robert McCrum writing for The Observer listed The Woman in White number 23 in "the top 100 greatest novels of all time", and the novel was listed at number 77 on the BBC's survey The Big Read.
Walter Hartright, a young art teacher, meets a mysterious and distressed woman dressed in white. He helps her on her way, but later learns that she has escaped from an asylum. Next day, he travels to Limmeridge House in Cumberland, having been hired as a drawing master on the recommendation of his friend, Pesca, an Italian language master. The Limmeridge household comprises the invalid Frederick Fairlie, and Walter's students Laura Fairlie, Mr Fairlie's niece, and Marian Halcombe, her devoted half-sister. Walter realises that Laura bears an astonishing resemblance to the woman in white, who is known to the household and whose name is Anne Catherick. The mentally disabled Anne had lived near Limmeridge as a child and was devoted to Laura's mother, who first dressed her in white.
While Marian is ill, Laura is tricked into travelling to London. Her identity and Anne's are then switched. Anne Catherick dies naturally and is buried as Laura; Laura is drugged and "returned" to the asylum as Anne. When Marian visits the asylum, hoping to learn something from Anne, she finds Laura, supposedly suffering from the "delusion" that she is Lady Glyde. Marian bribes the nurse and Laura escapes. Walter has meanwhile returned from Honduras, and the three live together in obscure poverty, determined to restore Laura's identity. During his researches, Walter discovers that Glyde was illegitimate, and therefore not entitled to inherit his title or property. He has attempted to cover this up by forging an entry in the marriage register, a serious criminal offence. Believing Walter either has discovered or will discover his secret, Glyde attempts to destroy the register entry, but in the process sets the church vestry on fire and perishes in the flames. Confronting Anne's mother, Walter discovers that Anne was the illegitimate child of Laura's father, which accounts for their resemblance. Walter suspects that Anne died before Laura's trip to London (in which case the plot would fail) but is unable to prove the date of Laura's journey. However on a visit to the Opera with Pesca, it becomes clear that Fosco belongs to (and has betrayed) an Italian secret society of which Pesca is a high-ranking member who could order his assassination for the betrayal. Fosco seeks to flee the country, but Walter confronts him – having first taken precautions against Fosco's killing him – and forces a written confession from Fosco, in exchange for letting him leave England unhindered. Laura's identity can thus be legally restored. Fosco escapes, only to be killed by another agent of the secret society in Paris. Walter and Laura have married earlier, and on the death of Frederick Fairlie, their son becomes the Heir of Limmeridge.
The Woman in White Illustrated edition by Wilkie Collins Literature Fiction eBooks
I never expected to love this book as much as I did and I'm so happy I tried it. It's a long one, so be prepared for that. Be prepared, also, for twists and turns and that slam you feel when you thought you knew what was going on and had it all figured out and you got the rug pulled out from under you!This was written in that grand style English that you just don't find in modern literature. I adore reading it, and if you love the classics, and a good mystery, then this is for you. These people came from a different time, and what was considered a huge scandal years and years ago wouldn't raise an eyebrow today, so keep that in mind as you read. This is truly a different world. But, human nature is fairly consistent, and you will recognize in these characters, people you have read in more modern tomes, or even people you know yourself. They are well developed, complex characters that I enjoyed immensely. I love the dramatic swooning...the formal language...and a time in history when restraint was a highly regarded quality.
This Kindle edition was free...and won't cost you anything to give it a go. I'm sure you will be as engrossed as I was.
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The Woman in White Illustrated edition by Wilkie Collins Literature Fiction eBooks Reviews
I'd never heard of Wilkie Collins before I got my . In searching out free classics, I of course found a number of references to this classic mystery. I inferred from the title that the woman in white was a ghost (who knows why!) so fully expected some specter to rise out of the misty moors. Instead, I was surprised to find myself in the grip of a diabolical and tragic tale told by several different and distinct voices. While a tad overlong - why use one word when you can use six? - my thumb rarely left the Next Page button. I had no desire to 'cheat' on Walter, Laura, Marion, Anne, the Baronet and Fosco with another book, and in fact could barely put down my until I could no longer keep my eyes open in the wee hours of the night. Collins was a genius at keeping the reader guessing, which I did throughout. Just when I thought I had it all figured out, Collins read my thoughts and threw me a curveball. And though the language is very old-fashioned and formal - think 19th century England - I had few troubles figuring out the odd unfamiliar phrase. Of course, it was tough not to chuckle at the quaint and genteel 'evils' that seem so commonplace today, but it didn't take away from my enjoyment of the book. If anything, it added to it. After reading - and thoroughly enjoying - The Woman in White, I can clearly understand why this classic has endured.
A note on formatting I have seen reviews of other freebies that were badly formatted and/or edited, but that was not the case with this book. Not only were there few (if any) typos, the formatting was quite readable. The one addition I would have liked is a linked table of contents. If you find a 99 cent version that boasts such a TOC, I'd recommend buying it instead of downloading it for free as I would have like to have looked back at different characters' accounts after reading them.
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It is easy to understand why Wilkie Collins’ book has never been out of print since 1859 once you plunge into its spectacle. Victorian England serves as the setting. A drawing teacher is hired to tutor two affluent sisters. He forms a romantic attachment to the younger of the two and learns later to his chagrin that she is supposed to marry a man she doesn’t love. Collins shows the fragile nature of women in a male-dominated world. In this instance, the novel resembles a Jane Austin soap opera. The heroine is truly a damsel-in-distress. Her father wanted her to marry the despicable Percival Glyde, and she abides by his decision. Sir Percival strips Lady Glyde of all her financial worth to pay off his gambling debts. Collins created a first-class jackal of a villain with Sir Percival. The ultimate villain is the Italian born Count Fosco. Rotund Sidney Greenstreet played the role in the Warner Brothers adaptation. All of Collins’ characters stand out, even the viper-like Madame Fosco. Laura Glyde suffers heavily under a yoke of oppression when she balks at paying Sir Percival’s bills. Secrets play an important part in this sprawling novel. The villains are detestable and they suffer grievously for their conspiracy. One dies in a burning church, with the other is stabbed to death in the chest. Fortune favors the woebegone hero and heroines. The description of Sir Percival’s demise is stirring stuff. A great novel that I thought I might not get around to reading.
I never expected to love this book as much as I did and I'm so happy I tried it. It's a long one, so be prepared for that. Be prepared, also, for twists and turns and that slam you feel when you thought you knew what was going on and had it all figured out and you got the rug pulled out from under you!
This was written in that grand style English that you just don't find in modern literature. I adore reading it, and if you love the classics, and a good mystery, then this is for you. These people came from a different time, and what was considered a huge scandal years and years ago wouldn't raise an eyebrow today, so keep that in mind as you read. This is truly a different world. But, human nature is fairly consistent, and you will recognize in these characters, people you have read in more modern tomes, or even people you know yourself. They are well developed, complex characters that I enjoyed immensely. I love the dramatic swooning...the formal language...and a time in history when restraint was a highly regarded quality.
This edition was free...and won't cost you anything to give it a go. I'm sure you will be as engrossed as I was.
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