The Woman in White

In 1851 England, Walter Hartright has just started working at Limmeridge House as drawing master to Laura Fairlie. He was hired by Laura's uncle, Frederick Fairlie, the master of the house by default as the last surviving member of his generation; the family wealth sit specifically with Laura. Frederick suffers from a nervous condition that limits his contact not only with Walter but with anyone except his exasperated manservant Louis. The other resident of Limmeridge House is Laura's cousin, Marian Halcombe, whose side of the family has no wealth of their own. Marian serves as Laura's needed and wanted companion. In first meeting Laura, Walter is struck by her uncanny resemblance to a young woman in white he encountered in his first night in town. While he was told that night that she was an escapee from an nearby insane asylum, he further learns that she probably is the girl who stayed with the Fairlies when Laura was a child; Laura only has a vague remembrance of her. In befriending both Laura and Marian, Walter starts to fall for Laura. Only after these feelings emerge does Marian tell him that Laura's already engaged to Sir Percival Glyde; she willingly entered into the engagement despite not being sure she loved him. In the meantime, Walter and Marian try to find out the story behind Laura's lookalike, who has still not been recaptured, and how she ended up in the asylum in the first place. Walter believes that recent Fairlie family friend Count Alessandro Fosco might know more about what's going on. If Walter and Marian uncover the truth, which would mean dredging up old secrets within the Fairlie family and some even within Limmeridge House, they would discover a scheme to gain unfettered access to the Fairlie wealth. The closer they get to the truth, the greater the threat to their lives and those of Laura and her lookalike.