Reviews with content warning for Fatphobia - The Woman in White

I really don’t like classics, but I was pleasantly surprised with this. I’m coming at this review with a modern lens and basing it just on my enjoyment, not so much as the novel’s historical impact on the literary canon.

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Dang, Marianne really said all fat people were evil.

But setting aside the fatphobia, Marianne really sold the book for me. Hartwright was such a Gary Stue. His POV chapters were such a snore fest. Character development? Personality? Nothing. He was just a cardboard cutout “man.” The other characters were so brimming with personality and quirks, and when Marianne had her chapters, she really took the mystery into her own hands and risked her life.

I was expecting a classic novel like this to be more quieter, but this book was full of twists, and sometimes action. If you don’t like classics, this may be the book to pick up.

If you want to read a spiritual successor from a modern author, I’d pick up Fingersmith by Sarah Waters. That novel draws much inspiration from this classic.

Content Warnings

annaonthepage's review against another edition

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emotional hopeful mysterious sad tense slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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mimi_jaja's review against another edition

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dark mysterious

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

If you fancy GOTHIC tropes and atmosphere this definitely delivers!

I loved Mariane Halcombe and how Collins creates cinematic scenes, describing the fall of light and casting of shadows. He pays great attention to subtleties of character's expressions during dialogue. I was also surprised at times by the nuanced manner in which Collins depicted women's experiences, sisterhood, relationships and interactions with men that appeared in Mariane's passages. That said, Walter's place in the narrative as a white knight in shining armour spoilt the feminist potential of the story. The morality was also dubious. Also, I would say that the fatphobia throughout is pretty extreme. The representation of Italians was offensive but interesting as a snapshot of tolerant vs intolerant attitudes at the time.

I listened along to the audiobook as I read my paperback too which I can recommend. I was hooked! This was a pleasure to read and didn't feel at all like 600 pages.

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orndal's review against another edition

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challenging dark mysterious slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.0

This book is INCREDIBLY slow. Also count fosco is FAT FAT FATTIE. HIS FAT FACE FATTILY EATS CROISSANTS.

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phantomgecko's review against another edition

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challenging mysterious slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.5

A domestic thriller garnished with Victorian misogyny. My compliments to the multi perspective storytelling through letters and diary entries, etc.

These poor women really were in a hell of societal convention. Not allowed to do anything without a disinterested uncle's consent. Not allowed to talk to each other plainly. Forced to walk on eggshells and hypervigilant to even the merest shadow of an insult. If only they could call everyone's BS and just LEAVE.

Like, at first I thought Marian was being paranoid. But no, Count Fosco and his wife really were sneaky little snakes. (Tho, the stubborn disgust at Fosco's praise was odd to me. Like, kinda a black and white moral superiority complex thing. As if because Fosco did some sketchy stuff, his very gaze could poison her or something.) (Oh, also, Fosco's condemnation of English society and crime was kinda weird. Was the author speaking through him as a form of social critique, or was the author trying to frame that line of thinking as obviously wrong because a villain was voicing it?)

In other news, the mystery threaded throughout, Percival Glyde's big secret, was v interesting.

Funny to me that this novel came out right after A Tale of Two Cities and both of them contain "twin" characters.

Anyway, I liked it. Not a top favorite, but worth the read.

Content Warnings

ok7a's review against another edition

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dark mysterious tense slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.5

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linguisticali's review against another edition

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adventurous mysterious slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.5

It's no The Moonstone, but this was still great. Not as funny and it took a while to get going, but some great twists and mysteries. I adore Marion (although Wilkie Collins seems to think all competent women spend their time lamenting not being as brave or intelligent or good at drawing as men, which... ok bro).

Content Warnings

sayhar13's review against another edition

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dark mysterious tense slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

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