James Baquet

In “The Woman in White” by English author Wilkie Collins, drawing teacher Walter Hartright is walking on the outskirts of London one dark night when he is startled by a frail woman all dressed in white. After he gives her directions, he learns she has just escaped from an asylum.

He is hired by an invalid to teach his niece Laura, heir of Limmeridge estate who bears a striking resemblance to the mysterious woman in white. Inevitably, Hartright and Laura fall in love, but do not act on it. Laura’s formidable half-sister Marian tells Hartright that Laura is engaged to Sir Percival Glyde, and recommends Hartright to resign his position and return to London.

Hartright learns that the woman in white is Anne Catherick, Laura’s unacknowledged half-sister.

Anne writes Laura an anonymous letter, warning her that Sir Percival is an evil man. But the marriage goes through. Heartbroken Hartright takes a job with an expedition in Honduras to get away from reminders of Laura.

The most interesting character in the book is a great, corpulent Italian named Count Fosco, with a larger-than-life personality. He and Sir Percival — who actually is evil — hatch a plot to strip Laura of her inheritance.

A returned Hartright learns that Percival had locked up Anne because (he believed) she knew a secret that could destroy him. Hartright discovers it: Percival was in fact born illegitimate and thus was not the legal heir of Blackwater Park, the estate where he lives.

Percival and Fosco take advantage of Anne’s weakness and let her die of heart trouble, meanwhile locking Laura up in her place in the asylum as “Anne.” With Laura supposedly dead, Sir Percival inherits her wealth (as does Fosco’s wife, Laura’s aunt) and it looks like they are home free.

But Percival dies in a fire while covering up his crime, and Fosco is killed by a secret political sect of which he is a member. With them gone, Blackwater Park devolves to its rightful heir. And Hartright and Laura are free to marry.

Later, when Laura’s uncle dies, Hartright and Laura’s infant son inherits Limmeridge and the couple, with Marian (who was Hartright’s main support in his investigations) move in to the estate.

Vocabulary:

Which word above means:

1. passes on

2. born outside a marriage

3. a hospital for the insane

4. a disabled person

5. similar appearance

6. weak

7. take away (from)

8. as was certain to happen

9. overweight

10. the edge (of a city)