The Woman in Black: A Ghost Story [Paperback]

Susan Hill (Author), John Lawrence (Illustrator)

Book Description

Publication Date: February 1, 2002

What real reader does not yearn, somewhere in the recesses of his or her heart, for a really literate, first-class thriller - one that chills the body with foreboding of dark deeds to come, but warms the soul with perceptions and language at once astute and vivid? In other words, a ghost story by Jane Austen.

Austen we cannot, alas, give you, but Susan Hill's remarkable Woman In Black comes as close as the late twentieth century is likely to provide. Set on the obligatory English moor, on an isolated causeway, the story has as its hero one Arthur Kipps, an up-and-coming young solicitor who has come north to attend the funeral and settle the estate of Mrs. Alice Drablow of Eel Marsh House. The routine formalities he anticipates give way to a tumble of events and secrets more sinister and terrifying than any nightmare: the rocking chair in the nursery of the deserted Eel Marsh House, the eerie sound of pony and trap, a child's scream in the fog, and, most dreadfully, and for Kipps most tragically, the woman in black.

The Woman In Black is both a brilliant exercise in atmosphere and controlled horror and a delicious spine-tingler - proof positive that that neglected genre, the ghost story, isn't dead after all.

Editorial Reviews

Review

Arthur Kipps is a man touched by tragedy as we learn following his storming away in a temper from Victorian festivities, complete with ghost stories, on a snowy Christmas Eve. He is fully aware that stories of ghosts may be told in frivolous fashion, but that ghosts themselves -- real ghosts -- rarely manifest in such a mood. Ashamed of his bad behavior and wishing to explain himself and make it up to his wife, he begins to write the story of his own horrific experience following the death of Mrs. Drablow in the remote village of Crythin Gifford. A young attorney, he travels up North to represent his firm at her funeral and clear up outstanding legal affairs. The reader follows Kipps casually but is soon caught up in a fearful exploration of human despair and its consequence.

I am somewhat amazed that this Susan Hill's work has eluded my notice until now. I had never heard of her, until Elaine of Random Jottings posted about this book last year. Now, I see that I've been missing out on a wonderful writer. The real strength of The Woman in Black is Susan Hill's writing. After all, in this cynical age, what is it that can persuade us of the presence of a melancholy or malevolent ghost? We don't really believe in ghosts in any sensible, scientific way; but the words of Susan Hill are composed so as to draw up the fears of our primitive forebearers, the fears of childhood, that ultimate human fear of being alone and vulnerable to larger forces. Just as Elaine had warned me, the book is scary. It is artfully crafted and absolutely capable of raising the hair on the back of your neck.

The Woman in Black is quite as good as any of Edith Wharton's ghost stories. --myindividualtake.blogspot.com

From the Inside Flap

Set in Victorian England, Arthur Kipps, a junior solicitor in London, is summoned to Crythin Gifford to attend the funeral of Mrs Alice Drablow, and to sort through her papers before returning to London. It is here that Kipps first sees the woman in black and begins to gain an impression of the mystery surrounding her. From the funeral he travels to Eel Marsh House and sees the woman again, plus he also hears the terrifying sounds of adult and child passengers sinking into the quicksand on a pony and trap.

Despite Kipps?s experiences he resolves to spend the night at the house and fulfil hi professional duty.It is this night at Eel Marsh House that contains the greatest horror for Kipps. Rescued by Mr Daily, a friend he met on the train, Kipps discovers the reasons behind the hauntings at Eel Marsh House. The book ends with tragedy, with the woman in black exacting a final, terrible revenge. --This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.

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Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 12 and up
  
• Paperback: 144 pages
• Publisher: David R Godine (February 1, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1567921892
• ISBN-13: 978-1567921892
• Product Dimensions: 8.6 x 5.6 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (86 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #79,504 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

112 of 118 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Tremendous Atmosphere, September 26, 2003

By 

Hilary Miller (KY USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Woman in Black: A Ghost Story (Paperback)

The most similar book I can compare this to is The Haunting of Hill House by Shirley Jackson. Like that book, The Woman in Black starts peacefully and builds up to a frightening crescendo that will "haunt" you long after you put the book down. Another similarity in the books is the tremendous sense of atmosphere. Eel Marsh House, where the haunting takes place, is set off by itself in flat, bleak, marshy wetlands and is connected to drier land by a single causeway, which becomes completely covered by water when the tide is high. When the protagonist, the young and foolishly stubborn lawyer Arthur K., sets off to spend a few days sorting out old documents by himself in the isolated mansion, you just want to scream, "Are you crazy? Don't stay there overnight, you idiot!" I particularly liked the way the spectral happenings were presented. There is no blood, no gore, just a brooding sense of evil and mystery. I also enjoyed the relationships Arthur establishes with the kindly Samuel Daily, a local landowner, and the little dog Spider that Samuel lends to him to keep him company in his ill-advised sojourn to the haunted house. All in all, a wonderfully-written ghost story that would appeal to those who find Stephen King's more lurid and less subtle books a bit distasteful.

69 of 71 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars "...an atmosphere, a force of evil and uncleanness, of terror and suffering, of malevolence and bitter anger." Haunting!, October 27, 2005

By 

Jana L. Perskie "ceruleana" (New York, NY USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)    (TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Woman in Black: A Ghost Story (Paperback)

I discovered this really disturbing, truly scary ghost story just in time for Halloween. Shirley Jackson's "The Haunting of Hill House" is probably the only other novel that terrified me as much as "The Woman In Black" by Susan Hill. Set in Victorian England, this atmospheric, supernatural tale of evil, terror and revenge sent chills down my spine on more than one occasion.

Ms. Hill begins her well-written narrative happily enough in the home of Arthur Kipps, who is surrounded by his loving wife and family for the Christmas holidays at their country home, Monk's Piece. Kipps is a full partner at a prestigious London law firm. Esme is his second wife. He lost his first love as a very young man. It is Christmas Eve and the grandchildren are all in bed. Their young parents, the Kipps' grown children, gather around the fire for a cozy ghost story session. At one point Kipps, obviously agitated, gets up, leaves the room and goes outside. He has hidden something significant about his past from his wife and family for years now - a tragically real ghost story of "haunting and evil, fear, confusion and horror" - of which he was a part. These events will certainly effect him all the days of his life. Kipps realizes that for his own peace of mind it is time to write his experience down and exorcise the demons, at last. He had hoped this inextricable part of his life would never have to be consciously recollected...but it is time. He decides that, at least during his lifetime, the tale will remain for his eyes only, and so he begins to write. He is our narrator.

At the very beginning of his career, many years before, Arthur Kipps, an energetic, idealistic junior solicitor was sent by his employer to attend the funeral of an elderly widow woman, Mrs. Drablow, one of the firms former clients. As the deceased owned property, including her home on the salt marshes near the town of Crythin Gifford, and had no heirs, no children or extended family, Kipps was asked to go and sort through her papers, and generally tidy-up the old woman's affairs. The Drablow manse, called Eel Marsh House, is quite isolated, situated in the middle of an estuary, connected to the mainland only by the Nine Lives Causeway, a small pathway barely visible through the marshes and quicksand, and only navigable a few hours a day. The road is underwater the rest of the time due to the strong tides.

It was at the funeral that Arthur Kipps first saw the tall, emaciated woman dressed in black. Despite his many questions to the locals, they refused to discuss the woman or address his concerns surrounding the Drabnow house, although they were extremely amiable and ready to speak out on every other topic. Suffice it to say/write that at the funeral, Kipps was the only one to see the woman in black. No one else even glimpsed what was so apparent to him. Obviously, as his work led him to spend time at Eel Marsh house, (What a creepy name!), there were to be be many more surreal episodes, each more frightening and dangerous in nature. Although these encounters are really scary, there is a mystery here also. Who is this mysterious woman...and if she is a ghost, why can she find no peace? The puzzle and ultimate denouement really left my mouth hanging open - after I let out a small scream! Good stuff, if you like to be scared...REALLY scared!

The author packs this novel with twists, turns and the unexpected at almost every turn of the page. The description of the brooding countryside, the house and surrounding marshes is at times beautiful, but always spooky. There were a few occasions when I wanted to shut my eyes - but unlike a scary movie, if one shuts one's eyes while reading, well it gets too dark to continue.

Arthur Kipps is an intelligent, level-headed man, not much given to drama or a belief in the supernatural. Thus the outright terror he experiences causes more consternation than it would coming from another character. At one point he reflects back, "It was true that the ghastly sounds I had heard through the fog had greatly upset me but far worse was what emanated from and surrounded these things and arose to unsteady me, an atmosphere, a force - I do not know exactly what to call it - of evil and uncleanness, of terror and suffering, of malevolence and bitter anger."

An excellent ghost story - little blood and gore, lots of fright. Highly recommended!
JANA

23 of 23 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Absolutely Terrifying, June 17, 2002

By 

Beowulf (Fort Collins, CO USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Woman in Black: A Ghost Story (Paperback)

I first saw this as a Broadway play, and it has been to this date the only theatre piece that gave me nightmares. I could not wait to read the novel, and just as the play was, it scared me senseless.

The novel plays heavily on atmosphere and mood. Susan Hill brings the black moors surrounding the Eel Marsh Hosue to life with vivid imagery. It's a "beautiful" setting for the frightening ghost that lives there. The characters are incredibly realistic and interesting to follow. You feel for Arthur Kipps in his trials and tribulations dealing with the Woman in Black in Eeel Marsh House. All in all, a wonderful ghost story that seems as if it should've been written by Jane Austen.