Name: The Moonstone
Author: Wilkie Collins
ISBN: 9780192551443

The Moonstone

Wilkie Collins

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Author Description

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, A Dying 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 The Truth. 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.

Menrva's Summary

THE PULSE

The disappearance of a priceless Indian diamond from a Yorkshire country house triggers a complex investigation that exposes the hidden secrets of the household residents. Rachel Verinder receives the Moonstone as a birthday gift, only for the gem to vanish from her room that same night. The narrative follows various characters, including servants, lawyers, and a detective, as they attempt to recover the stone while navigating social expectations and personal biases. The story unfolds through a series of individual accounts, creating a fragmented perspective that obscures the truth until the final revelations. The physical setting of the isolated country estate serves to heighten the tension as the investigation proceeds under strict social scrutiny.

INSIDE THE PAGES

Epistolary narrative structure using multiple first-person accounts
Use of a professional detective character to drive the investigation
Exploration of colonial themes and the provenance of the diamond
Examination of addiction and its impact on character behavior
Incorporation of legal and medical perspectives to build credibility
Pacing that emphasizes gradual disclosure of information
Focus on the contrast between public reputation and private conduct
Integration of suspenseful plot twists within a domestic setting

THE COLLECTIVE ECHO

Readers and critics frequently identify this work as a foundational text in the development of the detective genre. Discussion often centers on the innovative use of multiple narrators, which allows the author to present conflicting viewpoints on the same set of events. Many observers highlight the effectiveness of the atmosphere, noting how the author maintains suspense through the careful withholding of information. The balance between character-driven drama and the mechanics of the mystery is often cited as a primary reason for the book's enduring presence in literary studies. Readers frequently note that the prose remains accessible despite the nineteenth-century context, making it a common point of entry for those interested in Victorian fiction.

Page Count:
560

Publication Date:
2019-01-01

Publisher:
Oxford University Press

ISBN-10:
0192551442

ISBN-13:
9780192551443

Mystery

History

Romance

Fiction

Classics

Detective

Sensation