April: Reading Wilkie Collins

I plan on reading The Moonstone.

No Name for me!

I'm also reading The Moonstone. It has been on the TBR shelf for awhile now.

I'm going to re-read The Moonstone and/or The Woman in White. The Moonstone is a mystery which is my favorite genre, while The Woman in White is more of a suspense/love story so I'm leaning more towards a re-read of The Moonstone.

But before any of that I have a somewhat obscure Wilkie Collins book on my TBR pile. It is called The Queen of Hearts. So, before re-reading anything I've got to finish that one first.

I think I will grab The Woman in White. I am excited about this read. I am actually hoping I will have time to also read The Moonstone. I don't know that I have ever finished either one. So perhaps with this G/R, I finally will.
Thank you for setting us up so nicely.
belva

I've read three Collins books: The Moonstone, The Woman in White, and The Law and the Lady. In my opinion, The Moonstone is the best of those.

Of the two I have unread, Mad Monkton and other stories and The Dead Secret, I'll start with The Dead Secret and at least do that one next month--if not both.

I got halfway through The Woman in White last year (over at the Group Reads Literature group) before getting distracted by other books. I'm hoping to finish it this April!

I have The Moonstone but I'm not sure I'll have time to read the chunkster. I'll see how I'm doing half way through April. Anyone have a shorter Collins book to recommend?

>8 teelgee: The Haunted Hotel is one of his shorter novels you might enjoy.

But The Moonstone is so good, it almost reads itself! :) I couldn't put it down.

I'm not sure what Collins I'll tackle. Maybe Jezebel's Daughter? It has such a great title.

Who Killed Zebedee? is an edition of some of Wilkie Collins' works from Hesperus Press that contains the title story plus a novella entitled John Jago's Ghost. Both are thoroughly enjoyable in terms of pacing and storylines and it's a very quick set of reading selections. Both of those are mysteries!

From the same publisher is a novelized version of a play Collins wrote in cooperation with Dickens The Frozen Deep. It's short (which may be a recommendation) but I don't think the characters are nearly as well drawn.

Coincidence of the week: I'm currently reading Wanting by Richard Flanagan, and part of it is based on Charles Dickens, including his friendship with Wilkie Collins and the creation of The Frozen Deep.

I wouldn't classify this snippet as a spoiler as such, unless anyone's planning on reading*about* Collins. But read with caution, if you are. (All typos my fault.)

Wilkie Collins had a very large head that teetered on a particularly small body, and the oddity of his looks was accentuated by a bulging left temple and a depressed right temple, so that viewed from one side he seemed a rather different man then when viewed from the other. Outside of an anatomist's bottle, he was one of the queerest things Forster had ever seen. ....

Wilkie Collins' nerves were still good; he was yet to invent the detective novel, to be celebrated by his age as one of the great novelists and thereafter forgotten, to have his health fail, to take so much opium to ward off the pain that he would come to believe he had a doppleganger, the Ghost Wilkie. The world for Wilkie was a promise yet to fracture into phantoms, his eyes were yet to turn into bags of blood, and the great Dickens was a friend and mentor. He holidayed with Dickens, he played with Dickens, and he even worked for Dickens on the novelist's magazine, Household Words. Life had yet to shape him and he continued to believe that he shaped his own life. He was young, quick-witted and, moreover, agreeable to whatever was Dickens' fancy, and when that fancy was periwinkling^, Wilkie knew some of the finest halls and houses to frequent. But in this case he was at a loss to know how to agree or what to agree with.

^ There is a comment a few pages before that Wilkie Collins called "ladies of the night" (what a delightful term!) "periwinkles". I don't know about other readers, but I never saw Charles Dickens as a purveyor of "ladies of the night". Not sure if this is Flanagan taking liberties for his plot, or whether Dickens was known to consort with prostitutes, or whether one could just *assume* that being a man of that era, that he did.

>10 atimco:: But The Moonstone is so good, it almost reads itself! :) I couldn't put it down.

Sold! The Moonstone it is.

Yay! Enjoy :)

Interesting, wookie. I'm not a fan of that kind of artistic license taken with real people in works of fiction.

Well, having just read The Woman in White a few months ago, I picked The Haunted Hotel because it fit into another challenge.

If I have enough time this month, I may try a reread of The Moonstone, too, as I remember really enjoying it in college.

>10 atimco: But The Moonstone is so good, it almost reads itself! :) I couldn't put it down.

Indeed! And, at risk of talking it up too much, I have to say I do envy those reading either The Moonstone or The Woman in White for the first time!

From the library today: 3 novellas - Miss or Mrs? -- The Haunted Hotel -- and The Guilty River. I am good to go!

I'm at page 128 of the 501 page ebook-version of The Woman in White and really enjoying it, but... where's the mystery?
Years ago I really loved The Moonstone and I have Armadale ready on my e-reader.

# 18 "I'm at page 128 of the 501 page ebook-version of The Woman in White and really enjoying it, but... where's the mystery?"

As I've said earlier (message #4) The Woman in White is more of a suspense/love story than a mystery. But having said that there are some elements of mystery in the story. So, like Barney (from How I Met Your Mother) I'd say "Wait for it."

I finished The Moonstone last night and I absolutely loved it. Wisewoman is right, it does practically read itself. I couldn't put it down and go to bed at a reasonable hour. Loved it!

I'm not sure I should be saying this out loud (or typing this where other people can read it, rather), but I think I like Collins much more than I like Dickens.

I'm glad to hear you loved The Moonstone, Jennifer. I haven't started it yet. It looks like I need to have a few uncluttered days in my schedule before I begin.

That is quite a bold statement regarding Dickens. I've only read Woman in White by Collins so that verdict is still pending for me.

Actually, I've thought for a long time that I preferred Wilkie Collins to Charles Dickens. I'm currently reading The Law and The Lady but it's sitting right beside a much shorter text called Somebody's Luggage by Dickens. Collins' reads at a better pace than do the short stories assembled in Dickens' work. Collins (I think) appeals to us on that basis of pacing as well as his rendering of memorable characters like Miss Clack in The Moonstone

Have started The Queen of Hearts.

I love that Collins is an easier, more manageable read than Dickens, but with some decidedly Dickensian characters such as Captain Wragge, the 'moral agriculturist' in No Name. On the whole I prefer Collins' female characters to those in most Dickens novels.

Finished reading The Queen of Hearts. I just loved this excellent collection of short stories! My review is here,

http://www.librarything.com/review/56390989

Or my 50 book challenge thread,

http://www.librarything.com/topic/80925

Going to start a re-read of The Moonstone next.

>25 Porua: Thanks for your review, Porua. I shall add that one to my Wilkie wishlist.

I'm almost done with No Name. I love it and I don't want it to end, but as with The Moonstone I can't help but race to finish to find out what happens!

# 26 You are welcome. Always glad to be able to help add books to everyone's wishlists!

I finished The Haunted Hotel. It was OK, but so far I definitely like The Moonstone the best of the books by Wilkie Collins that I've read.

I have abandoned The Law and The Lady. It started off well but then seemed to slow down too much for me to be able to sustain interest. However, I have just started The Queen of Hearts which -- as far along as I have gotten -- is amusing me satisfactorily. Had it not been for Porua, I might not ever have found it.

# 29 Glad to have brought attention to a well-deserving book, jillmwo!

My re-read of The Moonstone is finished. The last time I read this book was about six years ago. I thought my opinion about certain aspects of the book may have changed during this time. But no, I still feel the same way. The link to my review is here,

http://www.librarything.com/review/58532969

Or my 50 book challenge thread,

http://www.librarything.com/topic/80925

You're far more critical than I am, Porua. Perhaps my opinion would also change upon a reread. I viewed Betteredge in particular as a humorous character, and his few slighting comments about women as simply part of an honest portrayal of his character, and not to be taken personally. But there, it's been a few years since I've read it. And I did tear through it at breakneck speed, being new to Collins and completely sucked into his driving narrative pace.

I started Jezebel's Daughter today. It's fairly good, better than my last Collins (The Two Destinies). But sometimes his narrators are a bit daft, aren't they?

# 31 I go by how the book and the characters make me feel. If it feels good than I’m o.k. If it feels like something’s off, I don’t mince my words. Betteredge, of course, is not a real person. So, I know the things he says are not to be taken personally. And I don't really mind what he says about woman. His thoughts are actually funny. I just don't like him. I don't know why. He does feel a bit like a caricature. I just don’t feel good about his character so I say exactly how I feel about him. ;-)

I just finished The Moonstone. I liked it better than Porua did, but I appreciate her opinion and candor. That's what these discussions are all about, right? If we all felt the same way about a book, then there wouldn't be any point to it.

I noticed when I entered the book that I rated it the same as I did The Woman in White last year. 4 stars. That's in the good but not great category for me. Collins is just a bit too wordy imo. Here is my review.

Well, my review of The Moonstone is not all negative. I did mention all the good things about the book too. The narrative is gripping. It holds the reader’s interest even at nearly 500 odd pages. I liked the strong character of Lady Verinder and the complexity of Ezra Jennings. I liked Sergeant Cuff and wish there was more of him. Overall, The Moonstone is entertaining and a page turner. So, it’s not all bad. But I felt most of the other characters are bland and underdeveloped. And I don’t like Betteredge. So, it's in the good but not great category for me too.

Another thing is that I don’t think I made it clear in my review that my comments regarding Collins’ writing is more of an overall observation of his writing in general, not just in The Moonstone. I feel when Collins isn’t trying so hard to make a point about social issues and just focused on entertaining his readers he’s a much better writer. Case in point, his The Queen of Hearts.

Edited to add touchstones.

Finally, just in the nick of time to call it April, I am starting The Moonstone. Looking forward to curling up with this one this evening. It is damp and cold and somehow seems just the right moment to begin!

Sounds like a perfect night for a moody Victorian mystery, hemlok!

I finished Jezebel's Daughter a week ago but haven't had a chance to review it until now. Here are my thoughts. It was definitely better than my last Collins, The Two Destinies, but nowhere near my favorites. The characters were a little flat, somehow. But I did enjoy it — it's Wilkie, after all!

I absolutely love the Robinson Crusoe as philosopher's guide!

Oh my goodness, I adore Miss Clack......great character!

# 38 Isn’t Miss Clack hilarious? The story does kind of drag when she narrates it and her ‘fake’ self-righteousness really does get on one’s nerves. But still her hypocrisy was so irritatingly funny!

The Moonstone has it all.....memorable characters, a completely engaging plot, and wonderful use of language. Wilkie Collins wove a mysterious tale complete with thwarted love, dashing heroes and not so dashing heroes, a loyal, lovely maiden, and of course......thievery, trickery, and subterfuge......Loved it!