Finished: The Woman in White (Collins) Finally, a book written in the 1800's with a happy ending...and what's more...it was a page-turner! This one definitely deserves it's spot on the Top 100 list. :-) The author was too subtle for me to put my finger on it, but he kept me in suspense with each chapter, and I just had to keep reading to see what was going to happen! I feared the worst, having read so many books written about English folks in the 1700's and 1800's. I was so pleasantly surprised to get a happy ending...even though in the middle of the book we think the beloved heroine, Laura Fairlie, had died. I just knew there was a switcheroo up his sleeve, and rather than Laura dying, her look-a-like, the "woman in white" Ann Catherick had died instead and had been mourned and buried in her place! The book is far too immense for me to outline the entire plot, but I'll give a brief synopsis. The young drawing master, Walter Hartright, is hired to be the drawing instructor for young adult sisters, Marian and Laura Fairlie. Since the death of their parents, they have lived with their uncle at his massive estate, and Laura Fairlie, age 20, stands to inherit the entire property when her uncle dies, and a nice sum of money when she turns 21 left to her by her parents. Marian isn't in the inheritance discussion because Laura's father (the brother of the uncle) had married Marian's mother (a widow) after she already had Marian, so Laura and Marian are half-sisters who are devoted to each other, nonetheless. As you might assume, Walter falls in love with Laura, and she with him, but they never act on their feelings or even admit them because, sadly, Laura is engaged to be married to Sir Percival Glyde. This arranged marriage was promised to her father on his deathbed, and though Laura hardly knows Percival, she is bound to the marriage. Marian breaks the news to Walter and they all three realize that the proper thing for him to do is leave right away. Before he can leave, though, Laura receives a disorienting letter from a woman who claims that she should stay far away from Percival Glyde...that he is evil and will ruin her life. Walter and Marian set out to find out who wrote the letter and if it could possibly be true. Walter thinks back to when he first walked up the road to arrive at the estate and he recounts his exchange with a mysterious woman dressed all in white in the middle of the night who he came across on the road. She was in apparent distress and asked him only for his help in procuring her a cab. Walter aids her and can't shake the meeting with the mysterious woman. As Walter and Marian dig deeper, it turns out that the woman in white wrote the letter! She was actually an escapee from an asylum who had known Laura's mother as a young girl. Laura's mother had been the only person who was kind to her. And, as a young girl, she bore a striking resemblance to Laura! Her name was....Ann Catherick. As the plot goes on after Walter says a heartbreaking goodbye to Laura, Percival charms and ingratiates himself into the family. You can just tell that he's up to no good! He brings along his good friend, and Italian expatriate, Count Fosco and his wife...who just happens to be the aunt of Laura and Marian and the sister of their uncle. The uncle had disowned her of her substantial inheritance years before when she married the Count against his wishes. Upon reading that, you just know that Percival, the Count and the Countess are all in it together to get Laura's money....especially when Percival's lawyer insists that the huge inheritance that Laura will receive when she's 21 shall go to her husband if Laura predeceases him, and not her sister as she had planned. As it turns out, both Sir Percival and the Count are broke and desperate for money, so dangerous plots ensue! Rather than kill Laura, though, they actually find the mysterious woman in white, who Percival detests because he thinks she knows a deep, life-changing secret of his. She is already suffering from a bad heart, and it doesn't take much to excite her into fainting into death. They then drug Laura and have her committed to the asylum, declaring she is Ann Catherick, and they "mourn", bury and inherit the money of the dead, Laura. It takes the determination and courage of both Walter and Laura's sister Marian to figure things out and realize that Laura isn't dead at all! She is frail, however, and doesn't remember many details of how things occurred. As they nurse her back to good health, Walter goes on a mission to find out Percival's secret, to prove that Laura is very much alive, to bring her good name back to her uncle, to make Percival and the Count both pay, and to have her name removed from the burial cross where she was laid to rest with her mother. And....oh my gosh...it all actually happens. :-) And, as Laura grows stronger, she and Walter rekindle their old love and are able to marry after Percival accidentally burns himself up in a rectory trying to destroy the evidence of his big secret, hee hee! That is a very short summary of what turned out to be a really good book! So glad I stuck to my guns to complete the Top 100 list!