Which British author wrote the sensation novel 'The Woman in White'?

Wilkie Collins wrote the sensation novel The Woman in White. First published in serial form from 1859 to 1860, it became one of the defining works of Victorian sensation fiction.

The story opens with drawing master Walter Hartright encountering a mysterious woman dressed in white on a London road. It develops into a conspiracy involving identity, inheritance, marriage, confinement, and the law. Collins's use of suspense helped make the novel a major commercial success.

The narrative is told through multiple documents and voices, including accounts from several principal characters. This structure reflects Collins's legal training and resembles the way witnesses contribute separate testimony in a court case. The book is also often regarded as an important precursor to modern detective fiction.

A common mistake is to associate the novel with Charles Dickens because it appeared in Dickens's magazine, All the Year Round. Dickens was the magazine's editor and publisher, but Wilkie Collins was the author. Bram Stoker and Mary Shelley wrote famous Gothic works, yet neither wrote The Woman in White.