The Woman in White [Paperback]

Generally considered the first English sensation novel,The Woman in Whitefeatures the remarkable heroine Marian Halcombe and her sleuthing partner, drawing master Walter Hartright, pitted against the diabolical team of Count Fosco and Sir Percival Glyde. A gripping tale of murder, intrigue, madness, and mistaken identity, Collins’s psychological thriller has never been out of print in the 140 years since its publication. Anne Perry writes in her Introduction to this Modern Library Paperback Classic (set from the “New Edition” of 1861), “[The Woman in White] has lasted, to our great pleasure, because it is superb storytelling about people who engage our minds and our imaginations.”“Collins was a master craftsman, whom many modern mystery-mongers might imitate to their profit.” —Dorothy L. SayersAnne Perry, the Edgar Award–winning author of more than thirty novels, is best known for her two Victorian mystery series. Her recent books includeHalf Moon Street,The Whitechapel Conspiracy, andFuneral in Blue. She lives in Scotland.

1. Wilkie Collins has been hailed as the creator of the “sensation novel”. Citing examples fromThe Woman in White, how would you define this Victorian literary genre?

2. In his preface to the 1860 edition ofThe Woman in White, Collins wrote, “An experiment is attempted in this novel, which has not (so far as I know) been hitherto tried in fiction. The story…is told throughout by the characters of the book.” Was the experiment a success? What is gained and what is lost in telling the story exclusively through first person narratives?

3. In her Introduction to this Modern Library edition, Anne Perry asks, “What is there in The Woman in White that transcends the change in culture from 1860 to the present, and beyond?” How would you answer this question?

4. Collins has beenlÃ.