The woman in white first appears at night on a lonely heath near London and is next seen at a grave-side in Cumberland. Who is she? Where has she come from, and what is her history?
She seems alone and friendless, frightened and confused. And it seems she knows a secret – a secret that could bring ruin and shame to a man who will do anything to keep her silent.
Glossary
- asylum a hospital where people who are mentally ill can be cared for
- bail an amount of money that someone agrees to pay if a person accused of a crime does not appear for trial
- Baronet a nobleman who has the title ‘Sir’ and can pass the title on to his son when he dies
- bless (v) to ask God to protect somebody
- cab (here) a horse and carriage available for public hire
- capital a large amount of money that is owned by someone
- cloak a loose kind of coat that fastens at the neck and has no sleeves
- Count the title of a nobleman in some European countries
- Countess the title of the wife of a count
- feature a part of someone’s face, such as the nose, eyes, etc.
- footprint a mark left on the ground by someone’s foot or shoe
- footsteps the sound made by feet walking or running
- gentleman (in this story) a man from a high social class, well-educated and usually wealthy (i.e. not a servant or a workman)
- gloomy dark, miserable; sad and without hope
- governess a woman employed to teach the children of a rich family in their home
- guardian someone who is legally responsible for a young person whose parents are dead
- hood a kind of hat, attached to a coat or cloak, which covers the top and back of the head
- housekeeper a person employed to manage and look after someone else’s house
- identity who a person is
- Lady a title used by the wife or daughter of a nobleman
- loan an amount of money that a person or bank lends to someone
- lodgings a room in someone’s house that you rent to live in
- magistrate a judge who deals with smaller crimes in local courts
- mental connected with the health of the mind
- morgue a building where dead bodies are kept before burial
- nerves the long thin threads in the body that carry messages between the brain and other parts of the body
- nobleman a man who has a title and who is from a very old family of high social rank
- nudge to give someone a gentle push to get their attention
- opera a play in which most of the words are sung to music
- post-bag (in former times) a bag in which all the letters of the house are collected to be taken to the post
- rank the position that somebody has in society
- register (n) an official record of births, marriages, and deaths
- rustle (v) to make a sound like papers, leaves, etc. rubbing together
- scar a mark left on the skin after a wound has healed
- shiver (v) to tremble from cold, or with fear, excitement, etc.
- sketch (v & n) to make a quick, simple drawing of something
- typhus a serious infectious disease that causes fever, headaches, and often death
- veil a covering of thin material worn by women to hide the face
- verandah a platform with a roof, built onto the side of a house on the ground floor
- vestry a room in a church where things like church records and the priest’s clothes are kept
It is sad that the video in not available.