The Woman in Black - Susan Hill

Susan Hill's The Woman in Black is a classic 19th Century style ghost story first published in 1983 and has since spawned an immensely successful stage production and numerous screen adaptations. This is the fourth time I've read it and it still retains the power to unnerve. Junior solicitor Arthur Kipps is sent to an undisclosed location on the northeast coast of England to sort through the papers of a deceased recluse, Alice Drablow, former resident of Eel Marsh House. The locals are reluctant to talk about the woman and an aura of grim foreboding surrounds what should have been a straightforward assignment. The tale is simple yet delicately nuanced, with an expertly crafted, escalating tension hinting more than it reveals. The real strength of the story is its setting; a house situated in the marshes at the end of the Nine Lives Causeway, a path periodically made inaccessible by the encroaching tide of the estuary. Using the geography to isolate the protagonist was an ingenious plot device.

Although The Woman in Black is a relatively mild, undramatic affair by modern standards, the mood and overall tone are absolutely perfect at creating a palpable sense of dread. The 'less is more' idea works to an astonishingly successful degree here, indeed, there is not one moment where a character acts in an unrealistic manner or events spiral into the realm of the ridiculous and overblown. A true writer of horror knows when to scare and when to pull back, and Hill has mastered the technique with finesse. The novella is tightly knit, excellently paced, and beautifully executed. It's just a shame that the fancy illustrated hard back I purchased was a hurried affair, as it seemed to contain an inordinate number of careless typos in comparison to earlier Vintage editions. A minor complaint overall, and certainly not one that dampened by renewed enjoyment of this terrifying book. Perfect reading for the when the nights draw in for winter.

Rating: 5/5