Review of Woman in White by Wilkie Collins

Eerie and enthralling. Mysterious and appalling. Sensational and beguiling.

I was a bit intimidated by the enormous page count of The Woman in White by Wilkie Collins. But as our Cozy Reader Book Club choice for October (and Victober prompt choice!), I was committed to finishing this chunker of book that was serialized in 40 parts between 1859-1860.

The evocative plot was intriguing from the start. Collins uses a solid hook of Walter Cartwright meeting an ethereal woman in white in the middle of the night on the side of the road. From that point forward, all one can think is, “What is actually going on here?” We’ve got tropes and plot devices that are recognized in modern literatures such as instant love, personal narrative accounts that feel like an epistolary novel written directly to the reader, mystery and intrigue, and a villainous vampire.

“Wait. What?!” you might be asking. Yes, vampire. I was enthralled with the ways that Count Fosco seems to have mind control and telepathic qualities when interacting with humans and animals, so after finishing this book, I researched whether he is considered to be a vampire. Guess what?! I discovered that literary critics have recognized vast similarities between Collin’s “The Woman in White” and Bram Stoker’s “Dracula.” This is not only due to the structure of firsthand accounts in both novels, but in too many ways to disclose in this review without giving away secrets.

I absolutely adored this book and it is absolutely one of my favorite reading experiences ever.

(But I do have one critique which is that during the Second Epoch when we are at Blackwater Park, I think Collins got a bit bogged down with the letter writing and the secret visits and frequent departures. I think he could have maybe shaved off a hundred pages there…)