Woman in Black. A Fine Edition

My friend Mr Palmer has just recently loaned me a copy of Susan Hill’s Woman in Black. I have read the book and seen the film….plus seen the stage version, but I was rather taken by this hard back copy 1st published in 1983. The Illustrations are by John Lawrence and at first they might seem a bit light in style and at times even jovial, more fitting a lighter tale. But the illustrations are in fact quite lovely and are definitely a bonus which add to the whole reading experience of this classic story;  The Woman in Black has many elements of other classic ghost stories. An old house, a causeway, a village were the locals mutter into their pints at the mention of the house, an unsuspecting hero, eerie sounds in the night, spooky children, fog/mist, secrets, vengeance, a locked room, rocking chair and of course The Woman in Black. All this is used to great effect as the mystery unfolds and the suspense builds and reaches a climax.
I have seen both the BBC adaption (Screenplay by Nigel Kneel) and the 2012 film with Danial Radcliffe. Both quite good in their own right; even though the film does change the story quite a bit, but both are very enjoyable and def worth a watch.