Stephen Malatratt Based on the novel by Susan Hill. Drama/ Thriller Characters: 2 male 1 extra Bare stage The framework of this spine tingler is unusual: a lawyer hires an actor to tutor him in recounting to family & friends a story that has long troubled him concerning events that transpired when he attended the funeral of an elderly recluse. There he caught sight of the woman in black the mere mention of whom terrifies the locals for she is a specter who haunts the neighborhood where her illegitimate child was accidentally killed. Anyone who sees her dies! The lawyer has invited some friends to watch as he & the actor recreate the events of that dark & stormy night. A classic of the genre. A real theatrical spine chiller.... A truly nerve shredding experience."- The Daily Mail " Provides a pleasurable ripple of fear down ones spine & an uncomfortable lurch in the pit of ones stomach."-Time Out New York "A brilliantly effective spine chiller.... The narrative is gripping."- The Guardian. "A gripping tale grippingly told."- The Financial Times" ...

Part of a series which is intended for class use & for GCSE examination & coursework & also provides material for wider reading programmes. It aims to offer varied & stimulating material for reflecting male & female interests & a real awareness of our multicultural world. The literature is chosen for its accessibility to young readers & the pupils are encouraged to consider alternative ways of looking at the play or story & to express their own view using supporting evidence from the text. There are also suggestions for writing which give pupils a chance to respond to what they have read through imaginative writing & dramatic reconstructions as well as through tradtional critical essays. The Woman in Black" tells haunting testimony of a young solicitor Arther Kipps who records in detail the nightmarish events of his stay in a house on a marsh in northern England & the terrible events that were to alter his life forever. The author who is a writer playwright literary critic & broadcaster has also written "I'm the King of the Castle" amd " Strange Meeting"." ...

Someone has left a severed hand in the centre of Manchester & the only clue Detective Sergeant Jessica Daniel has to go on is CCTV footage of a woman in a long black robe placing it carefully on the ground. With a lengthy missing persons list & frantic families wondering if the body part could belong to their absent loved ones the detective has plenty to deal with
- & thats before a detached finger arrives in the post. By the time a second hand is found & a local MPs wife goes missing Jessica is left struggling to find out who the appendages belong to how they are connected & just what the mysterious woman in black has to do with it all... This is the third book in the smash-hit Jessica Daniel series of novels which have sold over 300 000 copies in the UK.
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Someone has left a severed hand in the centre of Manchester & the only clue Detective Sergeant Jessica Daniel has to go on is CCTV footage of a woman in a long black robe placing it carefully on the ground. With a lengthy missing persons list & frantic families wondering if the body part could belong to their absent loved ones she has plenty to deal with -- & thats before a detached finger arrives for her in the post. By the time a second hand is found & a local MPs wife goes missing Jessica is left struggling to find out who the appendages belong to how they are connected & just what the mysterious woman in black has to do with it all. ...

Marian & her sister Laura live a quiet life under their uncles guardianship until Lauras marriage to Sir Percival Glyde. Sir Percival is a man of many secrets
- is one of them connected to the strange appearances of a young woman dressed all in white? & what does his charismatic friend Count Fosco with his pet white mice running in & out of his brightly coloured waistcoat have to do with it all? Marian & the girls drawing master Walter have to turn detective in order to work out what is going on & to protect Laura from a fatal plot...
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Wilkie Collins' The Woman in White" the first Victorian 'sensation novel' & one of the earliest mystery novels in English weaves multiple narratives into a thrilling & suspenseful tale of mistaken identity & dark desires. This " Penguin Classics" edition is edited with notes & an introduction by Matthew Sweet. The " Woman in White" famously opens with Walter Hartright's eerie encounter on a moonlit London road. Engaged as a drawing master to the beautiful Laura Fairlie Walter is drawn into the sinister intrigues of Sir Percival Glyde & his 'charming' friend Count Fosco the ' Napoleon of crime' who has a taste for white mice vanilla bonbons & poison. Pursuing questions of identity & insanity along the paths & corridors of English country houses & the madhouse " The Woman in White" is the first & most influential of the Victorian genre that combined Gothic horror with psychological realism. Matthew Sweet's introduction explores the phenomenon of Victorian 'sensation' fiction & discusses Wilkie Collins's biographical & societal influences. Included in this edition are appendices on theatrical adaptations of the novel & its serialisation history. Wilkie Collins (1824-1889) was born in London in 1824 the eldest son of the landscape painter William Collins. In 1846 he was entered to read for the bar at Lincoln's Inn where he gained the knowledge that was to give him much of the material for his writing. From the early 1850s he was a friend of Charles Dickens who produced & acted in two melodramas written by Collins " The Lighthouse" & " The Frozen Deep". Of his novels Collins is best remembered for " The Woman in White" (1859) " No Name" (1862) " Armadale" (1866) & " The Moonstone" (1868). If you enjoyed " The Woman in White" you might like Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's "A Study in Scarlet" also available in " Penguin Classics"." ...

Part of Penguins" beautiful hardback " Clothbound Classics" series designed by the award-winning Coralie Bickford-Smith these delectable & collectible editions are bound in high-quality colourful tactile cloth with foil stamped into the design. " The Woman in White" famously opens with Walter Hartrights eerie encounter on a moonlit London road. Engaged as a drawing master to the beautiful Laura Fairlie Walter is drawn into the sinister intrigues of Sir Percival Glyde & his charming friend Count Fosco who has a taste for white mice vanilla bonbons & poison. Pursuing questions of identity & insanity along the paths & corridors of English country houses & the madhouse " The Woman in White" is the first & most influential of the Victorian genre that combined Gothic horror with psychological realism." ...

In one moment every drop of blood in my body was brought to a stop. Gentle art teacher Walter Hartright has fallen in love with his student Laura. But she is marrying the wicked Sir Percival who wants to destroy her reputation & steal her fortune. In the face of his powerful friends only Lauras resourceful sister Marian & faithful Walter can save her from his wicked machinations & the terrors of the insane asylum. But who is the mysterious woman in white who haunts the moonlit roads & hidden graveyards? & will her secret save Laura
- or destroy them all?
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Wilkie Collins is a master of mystery & The Woman in White is his first excursion into the genre. When the hero Walter Hartright on a moonlit night in north London encounters a solitary terrified & beautiful woman dressed in white he feels impelled to solve the mystery of her distress. The intricate plot is peopled with a finely characterised cast from the peevish invalid Mr Fairlie to the corpulent villain Count Fosco & the enigmatic woman herself ...

Contrary opinionated & headstrong Becky Collins
- daughter of Charlotte Lucas & Mr. Collins
- has always defied her staid upbringing

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