Introduction to The Woman in White by Wilkie Collins

The Woman in White (1860), by English writer Wilkie Collins is a novel in letters, in which different characters narrate events in the long, sprawling story. The multiple “voices” in the novel raise questions about which characters are most trustworthy and reliable reporters of the truth. Considered by many critics to be the first mystery novel, The Woman in White might be classed as Gothic fiction for its suspenseful plot development and otherworldly evocations of fear and high emotion. Collins was a contemporary of Charles Dickens, and, though not as well-known as Dickens, his novels remain highly entertaining and psychologically intriguing.