The Woman in White by Wilkie Collins Virtual Entertainment, 2013 Series: Detective classic books This book considered to be among the first mystery novels. The various strands of the plot combine to produce a thrilling story, leading this particular type of fiction to be described as 'sensation'. A strong theme in the novel is that of marriage and its impact on women (in particular on Laura Fairlie). The plot revolves around men stealing women's identities. Look for other books on our site ht