The Woman in White is a novel written by Wilkie Collins and published in 1860. It has now been made into a West End musical by Andrew Lloyd Webber.

The Woman in White is widely regarded as the first in the genre of 'sensation novels '. It follows the story of two sisters living in Victorian England with their selfish, disinterested uncle as their guardian. Marian Halcombe is the elder of the two sisters, and a remarkably ugly woman, but with courage, strength and resourcefulness in abundance. The younger, her beautiful half-sister Laura Fairlie, is engaged to a rich man by the name of Sir Percival Glyde.

The story begins when the hero, art master Walter Hartwright, arrives to tutor to the sisters, and he and Laura rapidly fall in love. As Walter and Marian together delve deeper into the mystery of a strange woman dressed all in white, uncover the secret history of Sir Percival Glyde, and engage in a battle of wits with the enigmatic 'Napoleon of Crime' Count Fosco, the plot threads combine to produce a fast, thrilling story, leading this particular type of fiction to be described as 'sensation'.

The Woman In White is also an early example of a particular type of Collins narrative, in which several characters in turn take up the narrative of the story, often hearing one incident told from several points of view. This creates a complex web, in which the readers are unsure of who can, and cannot be trusted, and features heavily in many of Collins's writings, including The Moonstone.

The Woman in White was first published as a serial in the magazine All The Year Round , created by Collins's close friend and literary mentor Charles Dickens. Following the success of the serialisation of The Woman In White, Collins also serialised The Moonstone, credited with being the first true detective story, in the same magazine.

Musical

In 2004 a musical adaptation of the book opened in London's West End, with music by Andrew Lloyd Webber, lyrics by David Zippel , and book by Charlotte Jones , freely adapted from the novel. Directed by Trevor Nunn, it opened Wednesday, 15 September 2004 at the Palace Theatre in London. The original cast includes Maria Friedman , Michael Crawford, Oliver Darley , and Jill Paice .