The Woman in Black - Softcover

Mallatratt, Stephen

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0573040192 ISBN 13: 9780573040191

Publisher: Samuel French Ltd, 1989

Synopsis

Stephen Malatratt

Based on the novel by Susan Hill.

Drama/Thriller

Characters: 2 male, 1 extra

Bare stage

The framework of this spine tingler is unusual: a lawyer hires an actor to tutor him in recounting to family and friends a story that has long troubled him concerning events that transpired when he attended the funeral of an elderly recluse. There he caught sight of the woman in black, the mere mention of whom terrifies the locals, for she is a specter who haunts the neighborhood where her illegitimate child was accidentally killed. Anyone who sees her dies! The lawyer has invited some friends to watch as he and the actor recreate the events of that dark and stormy night. A classic of the genre.

"A real theatrical spine chiller. . . . A truly nerve shredding experience."- The Daily Mail

"Provides a pleasurable ripple of fear down one's spine and an uncomfortable lurch in the pit of one's stomach."-Time Out New York

"A brilliantly effective spine chiller.... The narrative is gripping."- The Guardian .

"A gripping tale, grippingly told."- The Financial Times

About this title

From the Back Cover:

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, but warms the soul with plot, perception, and language at once astute and vivid? In other words, a ghost story written by Jane Austen?

Alas, we cannot give you Austen, but Susan Hill's remarkable Woman in Black comes as close as our era can provide. Set on the obligatory English moor, on an isolated causeway, the story has as its hero Arthur Kipps, an up-and-coming young solicitor who has come north from London to attend the funeral and settle the affairs of Mrs. Alice Drabow 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 deserted nursery, the eerie sound of a pony and trap, a child' 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 this neglected genre, the ghost story, isn't dead after all.

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.

About this edition

• Publisher: Samuel French Ltd
• Publication date: 1989
• ISBN 10: 0573040192
• ISBN 13: 9780573040191
• Binding: Paperback
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 84