The Woman in Black

As a precursor to going to the cinema to see Daniel Radcliffe’s “Woman in Black” I decided to re-read Susan Hill’s original novella, particularly as I understand that Jane Goldman has taken a number of liberties with the source material in her screenplay.

Hill’s prose is astonishing; beautifully crafted to recreate an authentic Edwardian voice, reminiscent of M. R. James. In fact in a nod to the master Hill even titles one chapter “Whistle and I’ll come to you”. I was fascinated by the way she deftly handles time within the narrative. The opening chapter alone has six time shifts, from the present to the near past, to the far past and back, yet seamlessly interwoven into a deft linear tapestry.

The storyline is deceptively simple, yet the overall tone that she creates reminds me greatly of Jack Clayton’s 1961 film “The Innocents” (based on Henry James’ “The Turn of the Screw”). That was a movie which provided a host of nightmares for me as a youngster, with a saturated Miss Jessop standing amongst the reeds in the lake. That powerful image kept surfacing as I rattled my way through Susan Hill’s dexterous prose, which creates a wonderfully chilling sense of unease. The sense of speed that she gives the climatic last two pages of the book is an object lesson to any aspiring writer, with a truly satisfying final line: -

“They asked for my story. I have told it. Enough.”