So because I'm attempting to overcome my writers block through a bit of rest and relaxation, I decided to read some, and start a summer reading blog about my adventures (or misadventures?) through Barnes and Nobles Classics booklist. One that particularly caught my eye was The Woman In White by Wilkie Collins.
I thought I'd repost my blog here for further discussion and comments on the book by people who have read it.
Enjoy?
"As I have little else to occupy my time this summer, aside from a brief yet financially stable jaunt in July, I have decided to start a series of Barnes and Nobles Classics and torment the rest of the world by writing about them.
So I'll begin with a book that I bought merely because it seemed intriguing, and because Andrew Lloyd Webber wrote a musical about it. Seems frivolous, I'm sure, however it turned out many, many times better than I thought it was going to. I'm thrilled to present to you -
Wilkie Collins' The Woman In White
Set in 1824-ish England, the reader is presented with one Walter Hartwright, who has decided to tell the story of a family he has grown very close to. The novel is told from a series of different points of view, ranging from the Housekeeper, to Marian Halcombe, to Walter himself, to even the well-encumbered Count Fosco. Collins does an excellent job switching from one point of view and style of writing, particularly when relating the story of Mr. Frederick Fairlie (the ridiculously self-proclaimed ill uncle). I digress, and in the words of Count Fosco - I resume.
Hartwright encounters a woman all in white while at his home in London at midnight. She petitions him for help, apparently on the run from someone. He helps her, and she thanks him most ardently, then dissapears into the night. He discovers moments later that she had escaped from an asylum. The next day he leaves for Limmeridge house, where he has been given the position of Drawing Master two the two daughters of the late Mr. Fairlie - Marian Halcombe, daughter of the late Mrs. Fairlie's first husband, and Laura Fairlie, heir to Limmeridge Estates. Marian is ultimately my favorite. The dark haired, less attractive, infinitely more wise and clever sister is the exact opposite of Laura, who is generous and kind to a fault and is light haired and fair skinned. Her temperament is sweet, unassuming, and loyal to every whim of those she trusts. She and Marian are inseparable. Anyway, Walter arrives and is shocked to discover that Laura could be the twin of his mysterious woman in white. He petitions Marian for help, and they begin to puzzle out the mystery that involves Laura's fiance, Sir Percival Glyde (who I despise). On a side note, Walter is, during this time, falling in love with Laura completely, and she with him. In the musical, Marian is also in love with Walter, however this assumption is not present in the novel, and I'd hate to hear people talk about her like that. She's far too strong a woman to fall in love with a man she knows is her sister's and her sister's alone.
So basically we've got a romance, a mystery, and about thirty thousand pounds to dole out upon Laura's marriage to Sir Percival Glyde. The story only heightens from there, as the woman in white appears to know a secret that could destroy Sir Percival Glyde, and that will harm Laura forever. But the marriage continues, and one of my favorite, and least favorite characters of the books was introduced, the immensely fat, smarmily charming, mouse wielding Italian Count Fosco. He's brilliant, to say the very least, and holds Sir Percival Glyde (who has a temper hotter than most volcanoes) by the leash. You will both love, and hate this man, but you will hate completely the Countess Fosco, who is also Mr. Frederick Fairlie's sister.
I don't want to go too deeply more into the story in case I should ruin it for you, but I'll just say this. There are Italian mafia men. There is death. There is duality of nature, there is deceit, there is disguise, there are Secrets, there are affairs - and I loved it immensely.
Moving on. Now I'm going to muse over the characters themselves. This will include plot spoilers, so please, if you have a future desire to read the book, omit these
NOW.
Thank you.
Anne Catherick. I honestly can't help but feel bad for her. Truly she did have some mental problems, but not enough that would warrent her being placed in an asylum. And not knowing her father either? I will admit I was completely shocked to find out that she actually WAS Laura's sister due to an affair of her father's a long time before. Because of the resemblance I guess I supposed it was possible, but never actually put it together in my head until a few pages before it was actually revealed. She and poor Laura I feel were the victims in this story- neither ever did anything to deserve their misfortunes.
Walter Hartwright - Talk about a man in touch with his feelings! He was/is so in love with Laura and so determined to set things right for her, I wanted a man like him for my own! Even facing down Count Fosco like he did took bravery, yet he never once lost his self-control where it mattered. He even went beyond his own feelings and attempted to save Laura's husband, despite his own desire to see the man destroyed! The matter was out of his control. Above all he acted in a way that was above reproach at all times, in matters of love, hate, jealously, everything! It was magnificent.
Marian Holcombe. She ends up alone in the end (though the musical will tempt you otherwise) but she carries within her a love for her family that determines all loyalty. She is a strong, courageous woman who pursues the best course of action in all ways. She is clever, well-mannered, and quite saucy. Her intelligence is, as she often puts it, equal to a man's, and not once does she let them deny her that. Even Count Fosco, by the end of the novel, is completely smitten with her. (That grossed me out, just a little bit, but hey, even if she wasn't the most beautiful, it just proves that men of talent and brains will always shoot for girls like....Marian. ahem.)Anyway. I love Marian.
Frederick Fairlie - A more pathetic man I have yet to encounter! He's misearable and only thinks of himself. His consistent contempt for foreigners is also really annoying - he constantly calls them less than intelligent, or an ass, or idiot &c. Goodness, even when the health and safety of his family is at stake he still continues to think only of his poor, poor nerves. He willingly gives up his neice and all of her money to a man who wants to marry her only FOR her money! He makes me laugh though, amongst his pathetic ramblings, poor me, poor me. I can't help but pity him. Indeed, I was rather pleased when he died or paralysis. It was rather ironic, and quite important that he should die of the very thing that he instigated on himself. After not moving from a single chair for many years, honestly, paralysis was perfect.
Laura Fairlie - What to say about Laura....well, she was the victim of unfortunate circumstance, used and abused for her money, and her temperament did nothing to help her but leave her weak and unhelpful. I felt that after her stint in the asylum and after the drugs that the Count had given her she was reduced physically and outwardly to what she was inwardly - still very childlike and innocent. I don't begrudge her this innocence, but I don't exactly have to like it in her either. Then again, as I've already professed my delight in Marian, its obvious that a girl who was her complete opposite I might be less pleased with. But she won out in the end and won the man, even if she did nothing but sit around and need help most of the time. I'm not one for helpless women. Sure, occasionally I wouldn't mind being swept off my feet, but I'm not the crying, weak, soft-spoken, sweet and sugary innocence type gal either. So sue me. Thats why I don't think she is the heroine.
Sir Percival Glyde - A complete fraud. In fact, lets just remove the Sir, and refer to him merely as Percival, since the Sir and the Glyde both refer to the family name which he stole and made his own. His manners were, initially above reproach, but I would have taken the same frame of mind as Marian and Walter - he put a girl in an insane asylum without clear warrant! I wasn't suprised at all to find out he had a cold and ferocious temper that was hardly controlled. His guilt, which drove him to act in every manner including the one that destroyed him, was his only quality that built him - the rest was fake. He is so the opposite of Walter and the man that would be right for Laura is is not even funny. A man driven and destroyed by guilt....that's a good enough description for me.
Count Fosco - Now THERE is an interesting Italian man. I'm also going to combine a bit about Countess Fosco here as well, because I'm far to lazy to give that viperish and obnoxious woman any more of my attention than is necessary. My favorite thing about Count Fosco is the many aspects of his nature. Reading the many different accounts of him (from Mrs Michelson, who believed he had done no wrong, to Marian, who hated and was grossed out by him, despite his intriguing clear, penetrating gray eyes). First of all, Collins many descriptions of him left him to be a rather bouncy thirty year old, instead of the grossly fat slick man that he was. But therein lied his irony. Beneath his genntleman standard was an Italian spy who had turned on his brotherhood, was too smart for his own good and arrogant beyond belief. And yet, he was still brilliant. His words, phrasing, intellect and cleverness could never be disputed until the end where he made his fatal flaw - the date of the switch. He was completely untouchable, until Hartwright volunteered Pesca to him. But even when threatened with his life, he still remained civil, jovial at times even, and cunningly oriented his own escape. One of the most interesting things about him is his attachment to his wife, the Countess Fosco, and his near obsession with Marian. On one hand, the Countess worshipped the ground he walked on, did his dirty work, rolled his cigarettes - in return he gives her candy and calls her my angel. She is the perfect confidante, silent woman. It is necessary to note to the reader that may not be familiar with the text that the Countess was once a wild activist for feminine rights, an avid talker and gossip, the kind of woman you laugh at and are slightly embarrassed of at times. Upon her marriage to Count Fosco, she was 'tamed' and completely changed, shocking all those who had known her previously. On the other hand, he loves Marian for her intensity, her pride, her loyalty, her courage and her wit. Her cleverness matches her and even at time outwits him and leaves him simply to smile and assert that he is still right. It seems he misses a challenge in the Countess that he sees in Marian. Again, I digress to mention that in the musical adaptation he attempts to seduce Marian and have her sail away with him. This, even for me, is a bit much. I'm thinking not. I don't know if he wishes to try to tame Marian like he has tamed the Countess, or if he merely wishes to enjoy her at the prime of her life, while he gets closer to the frail edge of sixty.
I could go into the other characters, each that has his or her own interesting quirks and habits that truly make them believable. Because it is told from each individual's perspective, the novel is perpetually changing back and forth in its time lines as the reader has to play 'catch up' - but I enjoy it nonetheless. I did wonder at why Mr. Gilmore disappeared for so long, and what, in the end, happened to the enjoyable Professor Pesca (whose personality and way of talking made me laugh consistently. "Deuce-what-the-deuce!" His imitations of the English manner were so at odds with the other Italian man present in the novel that they make an interesting contrast. Again, I could write an essay about those two alone, but I won't).
If I haven't convinced you already, I throughly enjoyed this novel. While the beginning of the novel was rather slow (as most Victorian novels often are), it picked up as soon as we met the Woman in White and moved forward into the story. I was captured completely, and could not put it down.
Five stars from me!"
Okay dokie. If you actually made it through that, I'm proud of you. Now I'd like to hear ya'lls opinions.
What did you think of the book? The characters? The style?
I thought I'd repost my blog here for further discussion and comments on the book by people who have read it.
Enjoy?
"As I have little else to occupy my time this summer, aside from a brief yet financially stable jaunt in July, I have decided to start a series of Barnes and Nobles Classics and torment the rest of the world by writing about them.
So I'll begin with a book that I bought merely because it seemed intriguing, and because Andrew Lloyd Webber wrote a musical about it. Seems frivolous, I'm sure, however it turned out many, many times better than I thought it was going to. I'm thrilled to present to you -
Wilkie Collins' The Woman In White
Set in 1824-ish England, the reader is presented with one Walter Hartwright, who has decided to tell the story of a family he has grown very close to. The novel is told from a series of different points of view, ranging from the Housekeeper, to Marian Halcombe, to Walter himself, to even the well-encumbered Count Fosco. Collins does an excellent job switching from one point of view and style of writing, particularly when relating the story of Mr. Frederick Fairlie (the ridiculously self-proclaimed ill uncle). I digress, and in the words of Count Fosco - I resume.
Hartwright encounters a woman all in white while at his home in London at midnight. She petitions him for help, apparently on the run from someone. He helps her, and she thanks him most ardently, then dissapears into the night. He discovers moments later that she had escaped from an asylum. The next day he leaves for Limmeridge house, where he has been given the position of Drawing Master two the two daughters of the late Mr. Fairlie - Marian Halcombe, daughter of the late Mrs. Fairlie's first husband, and Laura Fairlie, heir to Limmeridge Estates. Marian is ultimately my favorite. The dark haired, less attractive, infinitely more wise and clever sister is the exact opposite of Laura, who is generous and kind to a fault and is light haired and fair skinned. Her temperament is sweet, unassuming, and loyal to every whim of those she trusts. She and Marian are inseparable. Anyway, Walter arrives and is shocked to discover that Laura could be the twin of his mysterious woman in white. He petitions Marian for help, and they begin to puzzle out the mystery that involves Laura's fiance, Sir Percival Glyde (who I despise). On a side note, Walter is, during this time, falling in love with Laura completely, and she with him. In the musical, Marian is also in love with Walter, however this assumption is not present in the novel, and I'd hate to hear people talk about her like that. She's far too strong a woman to fall in love with a man she knows is her sister's and her sister's alone.
So basically we've got a romance, a mystery, and about thirty thousand pounds to dole out upon Laura's marriage to Sir Percival Glyde. The story only heightens from there, as the woman in white appears to know a secret that could destroy Sir Percival Glyde, and that will harm Laura forever. But the marriage continues, and one of my favorite, and least favorite characters of the books was introduced, the immensely fat, smarmily charming, mouse wielding Italian Count Fosco. He's brilliant, to say the very least, and holds Sir Percival Glyde (who has a temper hotter than most volcanoes) by the leash. You will both love, and hate this man, but you will hate completely the Countess Fosco, who is also Mr. Frederick Fairlie's sister.
I don't want to go too deeply more into the story in case I should ruin it for you, but I'll just say this. There are Italian mafia men. There is death. There is duality of nature, there is deceit, there is disguise, there are Secrets, there are affairs - and I loved it immensely.
Moving on. Now I'm going to muse over the characters themselves. This will include plot spoilers, so please, if you have a future desire to read the book, omit these
NOW.
Thank you.
Anne Catherick. I honestly can't help but feel bad for her. Truly she did have some mental problems, but not enough that would warrent her being placed in an asylum. And not knowing her father either? I will admit I was completely shocked to find out that she actually WAS Laura's sister due to an affair of her father's a long time before. Because of the resemblance I guess I supposed it was possible, but never actually put it together in my head until a few pages before it was actually revealed. She and poor Laura I feel were the victims in this story- neither ever did anything to deserve their misfortunes.
Walter Hartwright - Talk about a man in touch with his feelings! He was/is so in love with Laura and so determined to set things right for her, I wanted a man like him for my own! Even facing down Count Fosco like he did took bravery, yet he never once lost his self-control where it mattered. He even went beyond his own feelings and attempted to save Laura's husband, despite his own desire to see the man destroyed! The matter was out of his control. Above all he acted in a way that was above reproach at all times, in matters of love, hate, jealously, everything! It was magnificent.
Marian Holcombe. She ends up alone in the end (though the musical will tempt you otherwise) but she carries within her a love for her family that determines all loyalty. She is a strong, courageous woman who pursues the best course of action in all ways. She is clever, well-mannered, and quite saucy. Her intelligence is, as she often puts it, equal to a man's, and not once does she let them deny her that. Even Count Fosco, by the end of the novel, is completely smitten with her. (That grossed me out, just a little bit, but hey, even if she wasn't the most beautiful, it just proves that men of talent and brains will always shoot for girls like....Marian. ahem.)Anyway. I love Marian.
Frederick Fairlie - A more pathetic man I have yet to encounter! He's misearable and only thinks of himself. His consistent contempt for foreigners is also really annoying - he constantly calls them less than intelligent, or an ass, or idiot &c. Goodness, even when the health and safety of his family is at stake he still continues to think only of his poor, poor nerves. He willingly gives up his neice and all of her money to a man who wants to marry her only FOR her money! He makes me laugh though, amongst his pathetic ramblings, poor me, poor me. I can't help but pity him. Indeed, I was rather pleased when he died or paralysis. It was rather ironic, and quite important that he should die of the very thing that he instigated on himself. After not moving from a single chair for many years, honestly, paralysis was perfect.
Laura Fairlie - What to say about Laura....well, she was the victim of unfortunate circumstance, used and abused for her money, and her temperament did nothing to help her but leave her weak and unhelpful. I felt that after her stint in the asylum and after the drugs that the Count had given her she was reduced physically and outwardly to what she was inwardly - still very childlike and innocent. I don't begrudge her this innocence, but I don't exactly have to like it in her either. Then again, as I've already professed my delight in Marian, its obvious that a girl who was her complete opposite I might be less pleased with. But she won out in the end and won the man, even if she did nothing but sit around and need help most of the time. I'm not one for helpless women. Sure, occasionally I wouldn't mind being swept off my feet, but I'm not the crying, weak, soft-spoken, sweet and sugary innocence type gal either. So sue me. Thats why I don't think she is the heroine.
Sir Percival Glyde - A complete fraud. In fact, lets just remove the Sir, and refer to him merely as Percival, since the Sir and the Glyde both refer to the family name which he stole and made his own. His manners were, initially above reproach, but I would have taken the same frame of mind as Marian and Walter - he put a girl in an insane asylum without clear warrant! I wasn't suprised at all to find out he had a cold and ferocious temper that was hardly controlled. His guilt, which drove him to act in every manner including the one that destroyed him, was his only quality that built him - the rest was fake. He is so the opposite of Walter and the man that would be right for Laura is is not even funny. A man driven and destroyed by guilt....that's a good enough description for me.
Count Fosco - Now THERE is an interesting Italian man. I'm also going to combine a bit about Countess Fosco here as well, because I'm far to lazy to give that viperish and obnoxious woman any more of my attention than is necessary. My favorite thing about Count Fosco is the many aspects of his nature. Reading the many different accounts of him (from Mrs Michelson, who believed he had done no wrong, to Marian, who hated and was grossed out by him, despite his intriguing clear, penetrating gray eyes). First of all, Collins many descriptions of him left him to be a rather bouncy thirty year old, instead of the grossly fat slick man that he was. But therein lied his irony. Beneath his genntleman standard was an Italian spy who had turned on his brotherhood, was too smart for his own good and arrogant beyond belief. And yet, he was still brilliant. His words, phrasing, intellect and cleverness could never be disputed until the end where he made his fatal flaw - the date of the switch. He was completely untouchable, until Hartwright volunteered Pesca to him. But even when threatened with his life, he still remained civil, jovial at times even, and cunningly oriented his own escape. One of the most interesting things about him is his attachment to his wife, the Countess Fosco, and his near obsession with Marian. On one hand, the Countess worshipped the ground he walked on, did his dirty work, rolled his cigarettes - in return he gives her candy and calls her my angel. She is the perfect confidante, silent woman. It is necessary to note to the reader that may not be familiar with the text that the Countess was once a wild activist for feminine rights, an avid talker and gossip, the kind of woman you laugh at and are slightly embarrassed of at times. Upon her marriage to Count Fosco, she was 'tamed' and completely changed, shocking all those who had known her previously. On the other hand, he loves Marian for her intensity, her pride, her loyalty, her courage and her wit. Her cleverness matches her and even at time outwits him and leaves him simply to smile and assert that he is still right. It seems he misses a challenge in the Countess that he sees in Marian. Again, I digress to mention that in the musical adaptation he attempts to seduce Marian and have her sail away with him. This, even for me, is a bit much. I'm thinking not. I don't know if he wishes to try to tame Marian like he has tamed the Countess, or if he merely wishes to enjoy her at the prime of her life, while he gets closer to the frail edge of sixty.
I could go into the other characters, each that has his or her own interesting quirks and habits that truly make them believable. Because it is told from each individual's perspective, the novel is perpetually changing back and forth in its time lines as the reader has to play 'catch up' - but I enjoy it nonetheless. I did wonder at why Mr. Gilmore disappeared for so long, and what, in the end, happened to the enjoyable Professor Pesca (whose personality and way of talking made me laugh consistently. "Deuce-what-the-deuce!" His imitations of the English manner were so at odds with the other Italian man present in the novel that they make an interesting contrast. Again, I could write an essay about those two alone, but I won't).
If I haven't convinced you already, I throughly enjoyed this novel. While the beginning of the novel was rather slow (as most Victorian novels often are), it picked up as soon as we met the Woman in White and moved forward into the story. I was captured completely, and could not put it down.
Five stars from me!"
Okay dokie. If you actually made it through that, I'm proud of you. Now I'd like to hear ya'lls opinions.
What did you think of the book? The characters? The style?
