The Woman in White
by Wilkie Collins
Summary
Drawing master Walter Hartright encounters a mysterious woman dressed entirely in white on a moonlit London road, a chance meeting that draws him into a plot of stolen identity, forced asylum confinement, and inheritance fraud. Collins tells the story through multiple narrators and documents, building suspense through the accumulation of testimony rather than a single omniscient voice. The novel is widely credited as one of the first and finest examples of the sensation novel and an ancestor of modern detective fiction.
Historical Context & Significance
Collins published the novel serially beginning in 1859 and in book form in 1860, and it became an immediate popular sensation with merchandise sold under its name. It remains a foundational text for the mystery and suspense genres.