What one reviewer at amazon said about Wilkie Collins: The Moonstone, the Haunted Hotel, My Lady's Money (Great Classic Library):
"The Woman In White" is either the best mystery by this Author, or some readers like myself would choose "The Moonstone". I read the latter first, and the first introduction often remains a favorite. These are also his most well known works, although as an Author and playwright he produced dozens. Rarely is a book received with such a unity of opinion, the 31 reviewers that precede me gave an average of a perfect 5 stars. And this praise is for a book that is now being published in its third century.
The book is intricate; it has the reader view the same events from many points of view of a variety of characters, in either written or spoken form. From the first encounter with the lady in white, to the final step out of Mr. Collins's maze, into the open space of "seeing" all the bits he has presented you with, the book is uniformly excellent. One commercial review suggested the book improved by being abridged, but they can be dismissed, as that is what they are selling on tape. Mr. Collins was a writer not a recording Artist, and even those who listen to the audio version have done nothing to deserve being given an interpretation of the novel. His writing has survived and flourished while countless means of communication conveyance have come and gone.
Mr. Collins constructs intricate plots, to share them, allow them to develop, and then to unwind the mystery takes time, or perhaps pages. This book and others were issued to the public in stages over several months. Even when they were bound for library use, they were bound in 3 separate bindings. All of this was taken into account when the writing was done, to suggest there can be any modification of the work is to advertise ignorance. To suggest an abridgement is not only possible but also an improvement is imbecilic.
Mr. Wilkie Collins, his friend Mr. Charles Dickens, and their contemporaries wrote books, They were as long as they needed to be, for their Authors or Authoresses were not pondering what the movie rights might bring, or how to adapt a particular character to suit a given actor. The writing they did was uncorrupted. It is true, especially with Mr. Dickens that he read from his work for the public, and did so extensively. But to compare a live reading by the creator of a work, to another mechanical abridged format is absurd.
"The Woman In White" would probably not be published for the first time today. How many books of this length do you find yourself inundated with from today's Authors? Of course there are excellent writers today, a handful can be brilliant in one third the space of this book, but so what? Well one problem is that for Charles Palliser to create one of his works takes years, and the results are magnificent, but like others who will remain in print ad infinitum, his work is long. His work has also been compared to that of Mr. Collins.
In the end Readers decide what is to stay and what is to be forgotten. It is wonderful that while more and more of what is offered presently are ready-made screenplays, or bound thoughts with the depth of a parking lot puddle, we still have these gems handed down to us whose quality has ensured their permanence.
If mystery is what you like, this is the Author who started it. Enjoy.
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