[4] Walter Hartright, a young art teacher, encounters and gives directions to a mysterious and distressed woman dressed entirely in white, lost in London; he is later informed by policemen that she has escaped from an asylum.
Anne, who is now terminally ill, travels to Blackwater Park and contacts Laura, saying that she holds a secret that will ruin Glyde's life.
Marian overhears enough of the plan to understand they are conspiring against someone's life but not any of the details, but becomes soaked by rain in her hiding place and falls ill.
With the death of Glyde in a fire while attempting to destroy the original register in the church, with the faked entry, the trio is safe from persecution, but they still have no way of proving Laura's true identity.
Walter suspects that Anne died before Laura's trip to London, and proof of this would prove their story, but only Fosco knows the dates.
When Fosco prepares to flee the country, Walter forces a written confession from him in exchange for safe passage from England.
To ensure the legitimacy of his efforts on her part, Walter and Laura have married earlier; upon the death of Frederick Fairlie, their son inherits Limmeridge.
Laura Glyde's interests have been neglected by her uncle, and her fortune of £20,000 (then an enormous sum of money) by default falls to her husband on her death.
Collins dedicated this novel to Bryan Procter, poet and Commissioner for Lunacy, and was inspired by the case of Louisa Nottidge[citation needed], who was abducted and imprisoned for the monetary convenience of her family.
In addition, before the passage of the Married Women's Property Act 1882, all of a wife's assets passed automatically to her husband.
The novel was first published in serial form in 1859—60, appearing in Charles Dickens' magazine All the Year Round (UK) and Harper's Weekly (US).
[6] The novel’s continuing influence in the 21st century led to the publication of a 12-novel series by American author Brenda Clough, following up on the plot, with Marian Halcombe as the protagonist.