The Woman in White Readalong: Post 1

*I want to apologize for this post going up late. It has been a crazy week, which is also why this post may seem disjointed.*

Welcome to post of the January 2011 readalong of Wilkie Collins' The Woman in White. This post will cover roughly the first half of the book (around 315 pages).

The first thing I want to do is apologize for not making the halfway point more distinct. When I hit 315 pages in ym own edition, it was right in the middle of a tense moment. I read further in hopes of getting to a good stopping point. Having said all that, I reached page 338. This was after the Count's entry in Marian's journal and what I will be discussing in my post.

So. Where to begin?

Can I say right now that I cannot wait to finish this novel? From the very beginning, Collins hooked me on his mystery and characterization. I eagerly turn pages in hope that I get the answers, but by this point, I am still wondering what the solution is, and Anne Catherick's Secret about Sir Percival Glyde (what a horrid sounding name, by the way. It oozes creepiness, doesn't it?).

Our story begins with a narration by Walter Hartwright, a drawing master who comes across a mysterious Woman in white on a late walk in London. After a disturbing conversation, Hartwright is haunted by the woman he doesn't know and continuously finds instances to discuss her once he reaches his new place of employment at Limmeridge House. There, he begins to teach to two young women, Marian Halcombe and Laura Fairlie.

This is where the story really begins. Young and beautiful Laura is engaged to the nasty Sir Percival, who knows something about Anne. Walter falls madly in love with Laura and to protect both of them, Marian tells him to leave. He does, but leaves heartbroken.

You would think that this is more than enough emotional power to move the story along, but the story becomes even more powerful from this point forward. The narrative switches into Marian's journal entries and we learn what happens after Walter leaves. Laura, in love with Walter, agrees to marry Sir Percival anyway, and the wedding goes off (how I wanted Walter to sweep in and save her). When they return from honeymooning, Marian joins them at Percival's home, Blackwater. There, the two women begin to learn why Percival married Laura in the first place: her money.

With Percival hounding Laura to sign documents without letting her read them first, to his friend Count Fosco spying on the two women in the woods, to the reappearance of Anne in the neighborhood, the action moves quickly. Percival turns violent and the tone of the book becomes so much darker and more desperate. Marian continues to be a pillar of strength for Laura and does all she can to get information. The last scenes in this first half were of Marian huddled on the roof in the pouring rain to hear a conversation between the Count and Percival. The very last entry I read in her journal was from Count Fosco, who read her writing to see what she knew.

At this point, I am itching to dig back in and discover the answers to my questions:

1. What does Anne know about Sir Percival?
2. What is UP with the Count and his wife?
3. What will happen between Laura and Percival? more violence?
4. When will Walter decide to come and save the woman he loves?

I am in love with Collins' writing style, and I hope you are too. I love novels that are written from multiple perspectives and this is a great example of one done well.

If you joined in and read the first half, please comment with a link to your post so I can link it here! I can't wait to see what you all thought!

Carey
Tahleen
Zoe
April (She created a drinking game-HOW AWESOME IS THAT!?)
Aimee