Name: The Moonstone
Rating: 3.841176470588235 (85 reviews)

Wilkie Collins

Catherine Peters

The moonstone is a yellow diamond of unearthly beauty brought from India and given to Rachel Verrinder as an eighteenth birthday present, but the fabled diamond carries with it a terrible curse.

The Moonstone

Anna Concannon 

I declare, on my word of honour, that what I am now about to write is, strictly and literally, the truth.

A Novel

Edwin Lang

The story of the Moonstone is told in a series of letters constructed from memory of past events or diary entries. It alternates between rural estates and London. There is an interesting clash between the three (Brahmin) who are in pursuit of the Moonstone and the individuals in England who are trying to protect it or find it since its mysterious disappearance. What makes the story fascinating – and a little challenging to the reader - is that each section is written by a person of completely different character (and caste within English society) so the voice, perspective, opinion and philosophical outlook of the characters changes to reflect whomever is speaking at the time. It goes from a stogey ‘family paper’, to the beloved (by some) house-steward Gabriel Betteredge, to Miss Drusilla Clack, an impoverished distant relative to the family and now a religious pamphleteer, to the family lawyer Mr Matthew Buff, a competent man who possesses a sense of his own importance, Mr Franklin Blake, one of the principal protagonists and the fascinating Ezra Jennings, a junior physician and expert in the use of heroin which he takes regularly to combat pain from a fatal disease he has and one who (for reasons Willie Collins alludes to often but doesn’t tell his readers) has been ostracized, the famous Sergeant Cuff, the physician Mr Candy (with whom Mr Jennings is employed almost as an act of charity on doctor Candy’s part). Sometimes there are letters within the novel’s epistolary sections, and thus overall the book is very rich. The book though is also very complicated and took me a long time to get into it. And one senses the tremendous class divide. It was written in the 1860’s, not long after the 1848 revolution in England and the influential Chartist movement, so it reflected the tumultuous time for the poor and a worrying time for the wealthy. Miss Clack for example is presented sympathetically by Wilkie Collins but she is silly (and sad as one reflects that individuals had little choice and little opportunity then, as they still lack in many countries around the world even today). She is routinely dismissed by characters like Mr Buff the solicitor – who enjoys, one senses, catering to the rich and powerful – but interestingly is accepted and respected by Franklin Blake. The story is well balanced and quite subtle, well developed by the author in terms of plot and character and saturated with delightful humour. The influence of the time is reflected in a mention of <a href="https://www.telegraph.co.uk/books/authors/william-cobbett-forgotten-chronicler-of-england-in-rural-rides/" rel="nofollow noopener">William Cobbett</a> who had had great influence on Betteredge and even Miss Clack, herself a pamphleteer (although just an assiduous distributor which added humour to the situation and the exasperation (or outright contempt in the case of Buff) that others felt. Collins has Betteredge – whose life is ruled by Robinson Crusoe as much as the Books of the Hebrew or New Testament or Koran, might rule others – quotes from Cobbett on how to choose a wife ‘ see that she chews her food well and sets her foot down firmly on the ground when she walks’ and had obviously meant to have been a bachelor. This is a sensational novel, heavily romanticized in the pursuit of Miss Rachel Virender, the 19-year-old heiress who has a consistent but relatively minor role throughout. The same with Miss Clack and for Roseanna Spears, a commoner who is in love with Franklin Blake and tries to protect him. It is very much a man’s tale and intrigue: it has characters like Sgt Cuff, who is held in high estimation, especially in his own eyes, but who throws us all off the scent and Ezra Jennings, an outcast, but whose brilliance leads the way. And the diamond itself, worth today about 1.7 million British pounds. Edwin

The Moonstone (Penguin Classics)

Erin Darlyn

A delightful read. I love the way Wilkie Collins tells stories and I enjoyed reading the different narratives from the perspectives of various characters. 

I gave it 4 stars instead of 5 for one main reason. I recently read The Woman in White (another of his books) and it instantly became one of my top 5 favorite books; thus, my bar for this one was set high. I liked it very much but not quite as much as TWIW, therefore it has one less star. 

That said, I had recently watched a television adaptation of The Moonstone and knew the ending already when I read this one, which also affected my reading experience a bit. I suspect that if I read it again in a year or two, I may rate it higher then. 

The 2016 BBC adaptation is worth watching; just read the book first to avoid spoiling the ending. :)

Jamieson

someone tell betteredge robinson crusoe isn't the only book

The moonstone

Katie Ravenwood

A classic. A wonderful and remarkable read, and completely evident why it's the beginning and standard for mysteries.

Thomas George

The moonstone is one of the oldest written crime books I've read and although there is no real detective work inspite of a detective presence in the book, the book keeps the reader occupied throughout. Most characters recive a basic back story with sufficient character depth. I must admit though that the book might take some time up to finish. 

Rose Stanley

I love the multiple-narrative, thriller gothic novel. This didn't disappoint!
(I was horrified by Miss Clack, btw. What an awful woman!!)

The Moonstone, a priceless yellow diamond, is looted from an Indian temple and maliciously bequeathed to Rachel Verinder.

Isa s

The Moonstone is said to be the first published detective novel. It certainly belongs to the best in the genre and deserves its place on the 1001-books list and on Bloom’s Western Canon.

As the title suggests, the story is centered around the Moonstone, a valuable yellow diamond. The Moonstone has been taken from its Indian home and brought to England, where it is given to Miss Verinder as a birthday present. Unfortunately the Moonstone is viewed as a holy object in India and thus three Indians attempt to attain the Moonstone - by any means, even murder if necessary. In the night after her birthday party the Moonstone is stolen from Miss Verinder’s rooms.

The story is told through different narrators who relate their experiences. This gives the story depth and evolves it in a logical way that keeps the reader riveted. The mystery of who took the stone and where it is now and whether it can be recovered is not easily solved. The story lead me on different wrong paths until the solution was presented. Mystery at its best.

I listened to the unabridged audiobook narrated by Robert Langton, which I can also recommend. I’d always listen to another book read by him. He is generally quite a good narrator; although he is not the best at female voices (but there was only one of his voices that I actually disliked).

Who, in the name of wonder, had taken the Moonstone out of Miss Rachel's drawer?A celebrated Indian yellow diamond is first stolen from India, then vanishes from a Yorkshire country house. Who took it? And where is it now? A dramatist as well as a novelist, Wilkie Collins gives to each of his narratorsa household servant, a detective, a lawyer, a cloth-eared Evangelical, adying medical manvibrant identities as they separately tell the part of the story that concerns themselves.One of the great triumphs of nineteenth-century sensation fiction, The Moonstone tells of a mystery that for page after page becomes more, not less inexplicable. Collins's novel of addictions is itself addictive, moving through a sequence of startling revelations towards the final disclosure of thetruth. Entranced with double lives, with men and women who only know part of the story, Collins weaves their narratives into a web of suspense. The Moonstone is a text that grows imaginatively out of the secrets that the unconventional Collins was obliged to keep as he wrote the novel.

Emily

A major precursor of the modern mystery novel - with multiple narrators, a reconstruction of the crime, red herrings and a 'locked-room' puzzle - The Moonstone sets out the tale of a large Indian diamond that carries a terrible curse. When Rachel Verinder is given the Moonstone for her birthday, its theft at her party triggers a series of increasingly horrific events that seem set to ruin everyone she loves. In this classic of the Victorian sensation genre, only Sergeant Cuff's famous detective skills offer a glimpse of hope for the diamond's helpless victims.

Jade Flynn

What a glorious mid 19th century Victorian 600 page mystery. If you're a fan of Sherlock Holmes, pick up Wilkie!

Binish Fatima

Wilkie Collins is my favorite author now!

Candelaria neyra

Loved the pacing of the book and the use of different perspectives, very satisfying ending

The Moonstone

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