The Woman in White Wilkie Collins - The Woman in White is Wilkie Collins's fifth published novel, written in 1859. It is considered to be among the first mystery novels and is widely regarded as one of the first (and finest) in the genre of "sensation novels". It is arguably the authors masterpiece. A tale of love, marriage, betrayal and mistrust, the gripping story is unraveled through diaries, first-hand accounts, and different points of view. In 2003 The Observer listed The Woman in White number 23 in "the top 100 greatest novels of all time",and the novel was listed at number 77 on the BBC's survey The Big Read.