The Woman in White

Tom Holloway (xuegx@CSV.WARWICK.AC.UK)
Tue, 30 Sep 1997 19:50:32 +0100

In his response to Mr S Hoffner's request for information
about Miss Havisham, Mr Dickens said....

>and you will find an account of a poor mad creature who wandered the West
>End of London at that time, dressed all in white, and believed to have been
>a wronged bride.  It was impossible for her not to enter my mind, when I was
>conceiving Miss Havisham.


During the early 1950's, while in the Royal Air Force at
Chingford, I would cycle to my home every weekend and pass
through the village of Epping on my way into London.

I very often passed a local lady dressed all in white in a
bridal fashion, well-known in the village as 'the Woman in
White' who would stand for many hours at a time in various
shop doorways, waiting (it was said) for her lover to return
from the First World War.

Perhaps this is a phenomenon that happens in all ages and
all cultures, although I have never heard of such a thing in
the United States.

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