Wilkie Collons is a master of mystery, and The Woman in White is his first excursion into the genre.
When the hero, Walter Hartright, on a moonlit night in north London, encounters a solitary, terrified and beautiful woman dressed in white, her feels impelled to solve the mystery of her distress.
The intricate plot is peopled with a finely characterised cast, from the peevish invalid Mr Fairlie to the enigmatic woman herself.