The Moonstone - Wilkie Collins

The Moonstone - Wilkie Collins: The jewel of the East (1532 words)
by sunmeilan - written on 24.02.06 (Very useful, 184 readings)
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Introduction I've been meaning to read this book for ages, but kept putting it off - I do most of my reading on public transport and so tend to prefer something reasonably light - and a book written in 1868 isn't really my idea of light reading. But as a fan of crime fiction, I felt that I had to read the book that has been classed by many as the first of modern English detective novels and so just finished reading it. It was definitely one of the best books I've read for a long time; not particularly for its crime fiction value, but more for the fabulous writing style and some of the most vivid characters I have come across. What's more, it wasn't anything like as ...

Better Than a ‘Regular’ Detective Novel (661 words)
by Smile - written on 13.02.01 (Very useful, 140 readings)
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Having read a number of ‘classics’, I find it difficult to comprehend why many people do not consider Wilkie Collin’s “The Moonstone” the epitome of the ‘genre’. After all, it has all the ingredients for a classic literary feast, and is indeed worthy of being identified as a timeless and elegant masterpiece. Set in Victorian times, the vivacious and effervescent descriptions allow the reader to fully submerge him/her-self in the traditions, conventions and principles of the period. He/she learns the to adopt, whilst reading “The Moonstone”, a different manner of thinking so as to sympathise with, ...

The Moonstone - Wilkie Collins: The original 'whodunnit' (383 words)
by Sue Ellen - written on 01.07.00 (Very useful, 117 readings)
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There are quite a few classics that I consider among my ‘favourites’, and this is definitely one that appears near the top of the list. It is a detective novel that is so gripping that I did nothing else but read it continuously and finished it in one day. I have never read a book that is comparable in its ability to intrigue you and compel you on to the end. The plot: The moonstone was a yellow diamond that was set into the forehead of an Indian god, had been stolen from the Hindus by Muslim invaders, and then stolen again by the British. The legend was that anyone who had it in their possession would be cursed. On her 18th birthday Rachel is given ...