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By Kathleen Thorne
BOOK REVIEW
The Woman in Black
By Susan Hill
Published by Mandarin
Price €6.99
In a remote corner of England, the death occurs of an eccentric old woman called Mrs Drablow. She had lived on an island called Eel Marsh, which is connected to the mainland by a causeway and is accessible only at low tide. It is to this place that Arthur Kipps is sent to sort out the affairs of the late Mrs Drablow.
Arthur is a young solicitor working in London and, for him, the journey to Crythin Gifford is something of an expedition. He travels alone, leaving his fiancé Stella at home in London. Suspicions regarding the strangeness of Eel Marsh begin before Arthur reaches his destination. Everyone he meets resorts to ominous silence when Mrs Drablow and her house are mentioned, but Arthur has to press on with his work. This starts with his having to attend Mrs Drablow’s funeral. It soon becomes clear that this is no ordinary funeral. There is a woman there whom Arthur sees, but no one else sees her. Reference to this sighting is, once again, greeted with silence and obvious horror.
There is more to come: When he ventures across the causeway to the house he becomes overwhelmed by strange experiences. He is lucky to escape from the island with his life and also with a little dog given him for company. Arthur manages to piece together the story of Mrs Drablow from several sources. Witnesses provide information but he discovers much from old letters in the house. Then his fiancée comes from London to bring him home. Soon afterwards he marries her but the curse of the Drablow estate follows him. It brings him pain and tragedy.
The Woman in Black is a ghost story that blurs the division between credulity and incredulity. It is a short novel and would make ideal scary reading for Hallowe’en night.
