The Moonstone - Wilkie Collins

'The Moonstone, a priceless yellow diamond, is looted from an Indian temple and maliciously bequeathed to Rachel Verinder. On her eighteenth birthday, her friend and suitor Franklin Blake brings her gift to her. That very night, it is stolen again. No one is above suspicion, as the idiosyncratic Sergeant Cuff and Franklin piece together a puzzling series of events as mystifying as an opium dream and as deceptive as the nearby Shivering Sand.' Described by TS Eliot as 'The first, the longest, and the best of modern English detective novels', The Moonstone is a classic mystery story first published in 1868. It was written during the middle of the Victorian era ...  Read the complete review

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 ...  Read the complete review

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, ...  Read the complete review

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 ...  Read the complete review

Set mostly in 1848 and 49 (and written just 20 years later) The Moonstone is an astonishingly good detective novel, commonly acknowledged to be one of the first ever written. In his preface Mr Collins states that his intention in writing the book was to "trace the influence of character on circumstances". This goal is achieved to perfection through the portrayals of Miss Rachel Verinder, Mr Franklin Blake and the unfortunate Rosanna Spearman. The basic story is that a cursed diamond was stolen from India by General Herncastle who later bequeathed it to Miss Rachel in order to exact revenge on her mother. It was delivered to her on her 18th birthday ...  Read the complete review