Another big hurray for the librivox.org volunteers. I just finished listening to all 25 and half hours of the audio version of Wilkie Collins‘ The Woman in White, all recorded by volunteers. As I browsed the forum of the volunteers where they coordinated their work I learned that there were five female and five male voices/characters and it took them over two years to finish the production. It was worth it, they gave a professional level performance of a great classic. Thank you all.
As this is one of the most studied novels in the history of modern fiction I don’t think I can add much to the established discourse. As an introduction let me just copy from the wikipedia entry:
The Woman in White is an epistolary novel written by Wilkie Collins in 1859, serialized in 1859–1860, and first published in book form in 1860. It is considered to be among the first mystery novels and is widely regarded as one of the first (and finest) in the genre of ‘sensation novels’. The story can be considered an early example of detective fiction with the hero, ….A poor art master, Walter Hartright, is employed to teach two young women in Cumberland, and falls in love with one of them, Laura. His feelings are returned, but she is already engaged to another. They are parted and she marries, but she and Marian, her resourceful half-sister, are then caught up in her new husband’s plot to steal her fortune and identity. Laura is stripped of her name and money, and almost of her sanity, but is rescued by Marian and protected by the faithful Hartright. He and Marian battle to expose the fraud and reclaim Laura’s identity, fortune and position in society. Throughout the story they encounter a mysterious woman in white, whose own sad story seems entangled with those of Laura and her husband, and who plays a crucial role in the novel’s main events.
What I enjoyed the most was the contrast of the different perspectives The librivox version really brought their different sensibilities and personalities out. Hearing the voices made it easier to put yourself in any of the characters’ place. Sometimes it was comfortable, other times you had to recoil. But it was always interesting. I also enjoyed the slow flow of the narrative. The detailed descriptions of places, people and actions made me feel being there. I hope lots of people will rediscover this gem.