Book Report

“The Woman in White”

MAIN CHARACTERS

Walter Hartright, a drawing teacher Anne Catherick, the woman in white Laura Fairlie, later Laura, Lady Glyde Marian Halcombe, Laura’s half-sister Frederick Fairlie, Laura’s uncle Sr. Percival Glyde, later Laura’s husband Mrs. Catherick, Anne’s mother Mrs. Clements, a friend of Anne Catherick Professor Pesca, a friend of Walter Hartright Mr. Gilmore and Mr. Kyrle, lawyers to the Fairlie family Count Fosco, an Italian nobleman Countess Fosco, the count’s wife, and Laura’s Aunt Eleanor Mrs. Michelson, the housekeeper by Count Fosco Mr. Dawson, a doctor Fanny, Lady Glyde’s maid SETTINGS North of England Old London neighborhoods Italy and others PLOT The Woman in white is a love story, full of mystery and suspense, were the two main characters are set a part for a promise to be carried out. While the mystery of who is the woman in white is discovered, the life of Lady Glyde is in risk and many events occurred before the truth is known.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

William Wilkie Collins (8 January 1824 – 23 September 1889) was an English novelist, playwright, and author of short stories. He was very popular during the Victorian era and wrote 30 novels, more than 60 short stories, 14 plays, and over 100 non-fiction pieces. His best-known works are The Woman in White, The Moonstone, Armadale and No Name. Collins was born in London, the son of a well-known Royal Academician landscape artist, William Collins. Named after his father, he swiftly became known by his second name (which honored his godfather, David Wilkie). From the ages of 12 to 15, he lived with his parents in Italy, which made a great impression on him. At age 17 he left school and was apprenticed as a clerk to a firm of tea merchants, but after five unhappy years, during which he wrote his first novel, Iolani, he entered Lincoln's Inn to study law. (Iolani remained unpublished for over 150 years until 1999.) After his father's death in 1847, Collins produced his first published book, Memoirs of the Life of William Collins, Esq., R.A. (1848), and also considered a career in painting, exhibiting a picture at the Royal Academy summer exhibition in 1849, but it was with the release of his first published novel, Antonina, in 1850 that his career as a writer began in earnest.

He is buried in Kensal Green Cemetery, West London. His grave marker describes him as the author of The Woman in White.

OUTLINE

1

•Walter Hartright narrated this first part by telling his surprising encouter with the woman in white at night.

•He was on his way to a new job, that his friend Pesca, found for him.

•Walter helped the woman to scape. He did not know from whom and where.

2

•Walter Hartright arrives to Limmeridge House, where he is going to work as a painting proffesor.

•Walter and Marian meet and they soon became close friends.

•Walter is introduced to Laura, time was not enough to spend time with her, he fell in love sooner than later.

3

•Laura Fairlie had promised that she will get married with Sr. Percival Glyde. She was not exited about it, but she was commited to it.

•Before deciding a date for the wedding, Laura recieved an unsigned letter, were she was warned about marring with Sr. Percival

•Somehow, they find the relationship between the letter and the woman in white. The search began.

4

•The arrangement for the marriage must be done, but not before dissmissing Walter.

•Walter told Marian how deep his love for Laura was, but she ask him to keept as a secret and leave. Walter finds out that Laura feels the same way.

5

•After the wedding, now Lady Glyde is forced to sign some documets.

•Those documents were to give up her heritage. Wisely she does not sign.

•Sr. Percival is mad, but with some help the signature is delay.

6

•Remember the letter? well the author was to be known, in fact was the woman in white. She was trying to warn Laura about something.

•She said before that she knew a secret that will destroy Sr. Percival

•Laura and the woman in white arrange a meeting by the house of the lake

•This, never occurs. Before being able to meet Laura is found by Count and with instructions of Sr. Percival she is send to her room without being able to go out.

7

•When Marian, found out about Laura being locked in her room, she made a risky move.

•She escape from the bedroom throught the windows, so she could listen the conversation of Sr. Percival and The Count.

•They were talking about

8

•When Marian comes back to her room, she is all wet, she starts to loose her selfcontrol, and decides to write down everything she had heard.

•But she is not able to finish the paper, she got ill. Unable to do anything, Marian is uncouncious.

•Some weeks passed and Marian gets better, she realizes that she is not longer in her room and that Laura is not in the house neighter.

•Marian starts feeling better when she recieves the news that Laura is dead.

9

•While all these happened, Walter Harthight was working in Central America, but it was time to go back.

•The first thing he does, is visiting his mother and sister. They tell the terrible news about Laura.

•He decides to go back and visit ther grave. It was a hard moment for him, but while he has standing in front, two mystery women appear.

•Walter realizes that he is with Marian and the living body of Laura. But what happened?

10

•At the first opportunity they have, Marian tells everything to Walter.

•Laura looked paild and weak, but she was alive. Saddly the woman who was in the grave was Anne Catherick, the woman in white.

11

•Now that Walter had the opportunity to be happy with Laura, he is determined to solve the mystery of who wanted to kill Laura and also recover all her fortune.

•Walter decides to investigate Sr. Percival's past life. He knew that something was wrong.

12

•At the beginning, Walter finds out that Sr. Percival had a secret that could destroy him.

•Walter is determined to know that secret.

•He reaches Anne's mother but she refuses to say a word.

•With some other evidence, Walter finds out that Sr. Percival parent were not married, and if that was true he couldn't recieve any herritage.

COMMENTS

The Woman in White, is basically, a love story mixed with mystery and suspense, were a case must be solve in order to live ever happy.

At the beginning of the story I felt intrigued by the sporadically appearances of the woman in white, I thought she was maybe dead or crazy.

The two half sisters’ relationship was very nice, it remains me about me and my own sister.

My favorite part was Marian’s courage to solve the mystery and help her sister even though she got so ill.

At the end the mystery was not a big deal, I was expecting something more, but how every event happened was really good.

I believed the author tried to emerge feelings of fairness, intrigue, and obviously love.

BERTA LUCIA GÓMEZ URZÚA # 076 08 17620

English VI

13

•Sr. Percival new that Walter was going to find out the truth and tell everyone, so he decides to go before him to destroy the proofs. Accidently he founds himself lock in a room of the church were the document of his false parent's marrige. A candle falls and he dies burned.

•Anne's mother knows about his dead and writes a letter to Walter, there she tell the whole true and every succes of the past.

14

•With that letter in his hands, Walter nows that the must make Count to confess all the true.

•With the help of Pesca, his old friend, Count is kills by an Italian society were they belong.

15

•With all the collected evidence, Walter, Laura and Marian returns to their home to proof the existence of Laura.

•They change the name on the grave for Anne Catherick.

•They recover all the herrigate of Laura by the dead of her uncle.

•Laura and Walter had a son, and their good friend throught all the adventure, Marian, stays with them.