To have Arthur grieving from the outset is a sound structural change but it’s one which provides an excuse to introduce sometimes unwelcome sentimentality.

To The Woman in Black, Goldman adds visions of a woman in white we see Arthur’s wife die in childbirth and, three years later, he’s still haunted by her benevolent spirit. Screenwriter Jane Goldman ( Kick-Ass, X -Men: First Class) both strips the original story and fleshes it out. There’s a macabre new opener (with shades of Antichrist), making horribly explicit the suffering that has been inflicted on the village. Gone are the Christmas-set prologue and the funeral which originally marked the first appearance of the woman. Watkins’s The Woman in Black takes bold strides away from the book, so we’re in the dark at every turn.

She’s the diabolical dame of the title, taken up a notch in nastiness for the sake of the screen. Matters worsen when, undeterred by vigorous warnings, he insists on heading to the isolated Drablow estate where he finds himself terrorised by the spectre of a wronged woman, Jennet Humfrye (Liz White from TV’s Life on Mars, only ever fleetingly glimpsed ). However, once he arrives in the village the other residents seem wary and reluctant to assist him. During his train journey Arthur is fortunate enough to encounter a local, the prosperous and genial Mr Daily ( Ciarán Hinds, pictured below right). Radcliffe plays Kipps, a young lawyer and widower with a three-year-old son, sent by his employer Mr Bentley ( Roger Allam) to put in order the legal affairs of the recently deceased Alice Drablow, of Eel Marsh House, Crythin Gifford. Signed by Author(s).As its daring do-gooder, it features boy wonder Daniel Radcliffe, now a man and here a father who, in his continued battle against evil, is hardly distancing himself from the intrepid (or should that be accursed?) Potter. Ashton Rare Books welcomes direct contact. The book was also successfully adapted for the cinema with Daniel Radcliffe starring in the lead role. First performed at the 'Stephen Joseph Theatre-In-The-Round' in Scarborough, in 1987. 'The Woman in Black' is the basis of the second longest running play in the history of the West End, after 'The Mousetrap'. Accompanied by two theatre production fliers. A ticket for the signing event accompanies this title as provenance. The book has been Signed by the author to the title page. The John Lawrence designed wrapper artwork looks very striking in the removable Brodart archival cover. A little light toning and creasing to the edges in places. The WRAPPER is complete and is in Very Good++ or better condition. Free from inscriptions, markings and erasures. Interestingly, the titling of the wrapper has ghosted onto the front board. The usually encountered ghosting discolouration to the boards.

The BOOK is in Very Good++ or better condition. The First UK printing published by Hamish Hamilton in 1983.

The woman in black book