HomeGroupsTalkMoreZeitgeist
Search Site
This site uses cookies to deliver our services, improve performance, for analytics, and (if not signed in) for advertising. By using LibraryThing you acknowledge that you have read and understand our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy. Your use of the site and services is subject to these policies and terms.

Results from Google Books

Click on a thumbnail to go to Google Books.

The Moonstone by Wilkie Collins
Loading...

The Moonstone (original 1868; edition 2002)

by Wilkie Collins, Frederick R. Karl (Introduction)

MembersReviewsPopularityAverage ratingMentions
10,769252643 (3.95)865
Classic Literature. Fiction. Mystery. HTML:

The Moonstone is a 19th-century novel by the master of sensation fiction, Wilkie Collins. It is considered, with The Woman in White, to be his best work, and is also commonly seen as the first English detective novel. Many of the standard ground rules for detective fiction can be found in this work, as well as examples of Collins' forward-thinking approach to the treatment of Indians and servants.

.… (more)
Member:nibs
Title:The Moonstone
Authors:Wilkie Collins
Other authors:Frederick R. Karl (Introduction)
Info:Signet Classics (2002), Paperback, 512 pages
Collections:Your library
Rating:
Tags:None

Work Information

The Moonstone by Wilkie Collins (1868)

  1. 90
    Lady Audley's Secret by Mary Elizabeth Braddon (Booksloth)
  2. 41
    Uncle Silas: A Tale of Bartram-Haugh by Joseph Sheridan Le Fanu (Anonymous user)
  3. 63
    Drood by Dan Simmons (Jannes)
    Jannes: A (fictional) tale about Collins and his friendship with Dickens. "The Moonstone" in prominently featured. Give it a try if you're into historical thrillers.
  4. 31
    Dead Men Tell No Tales by E. W. Hornung (TineOliver)
    TineOliver: Both are essentially mystery novels, although Collins is both more pioneering and, in my view better written. While the two novels were published approximately 30 years apart, both are set in the mid 19th century. Reading both books allows the reader to place the works in context of other mystery novels from the 19th century. Accordingly, I am not suggesting that just because you enjoyed one means you will enjoy the other to the same extent.… (more)
AP Lit (4)
1860s (2)
My TBR (17)
Loading...

Sign up for LibraryThing to find out whether you'll like this book.

No current Talk conversations about this book.

» See also 865 mentions

English (231)  Spanish (11)  Italian (1)  Catalan (1)  Danish (1)  Portuguese (1)  Swedish (1)  French (1)  Dutch (1)  All languages (249)
Showing 1-5 of 231 (next | show all)
this was on my summer reading list between 8th and 9th grade. i remember reading the back of the books , many of them dealing with poverty, dust storms,etc and then this an indian idol, a diamond quicksand and sword fights. I never regretted the choice and , while it took me a while, i read all of wilkies eventually ( )
  cspiwak | Mar 6, 2024 |
This is an enjoyable book with perhaps a touch too many mentions of Robinson Crusoe. Its a mystery of a missing gem told through multiple narratives from different people. Just as you think he's painted himself into an impossible corner the mystery gets solved (albeit still in a vaguely implausible way!) Its quite a journey with some memorably annoying or horrific characters, and its funny as well. ( )
  AlisonSakai | Jan 28, 2024 |
Before I get to the review, I have to note that I just found out there's a BBC version of this featuring John Wise, the not-so-nice Willoughby from the 1995 version of Sense & Sensibility. Must find this! Second random note---take a minute to Google search the images for The Moonstone. Lots of different book covers---all depicting significant scenes from the book. It's one of the most varied mix of covers I've seen.

Book Description: "Alongside Edgar Allan Poe in America, Britain's Wilkie Collins stands as the inventor of the modern detective story. The Moonstone introduces all the ingredients: a homey, English country setting, and a colorfully exotic background in colonial India; the theft of a fabulous diamond from the lovely heroine; a bloody murder and a tragic suicide; a poor hero in love with the heroine but suspected of the crime, who can't remember anything about the night the jewel was stolen; a lawyer, a doctor, a sea captain, and assorted friends, relatives, and servants--all of them suspects; and, most essentially, a bumbling local policeman and a brilliant if eccentric London detective. Adding spice to the recipe are unexpected twists, a bit of dark satire, a dash of social comment, and an unusual but effective narrative structure--eleven different voices relate parts of the tale, each revealing as much about himself (and, in one case, herself) as about the mystery of the missing Moonstone. Filled with suspense, action, and romance, The Moonstone is as riveting and intoxicating today as it was when it first appeared more than a century ago."

The Moonstone is considered to be the first detective story written in English. It was just an excellent story and I really enjoyed it. It had the very best ending---ended just as it should have. The story is told from the perspective of many different narrators, an idea that initially turned me off when I read the book description. However, it starts right in being told by Betteredge, the main narrator, and captivates the reader from the very beginning. His humor and mannerisms remind me of my Dad---that's probably why he was my favorite character. I love how he talks to the reader:

"Here follows the substance of what I said, written out entirely for your benefit. Pay attention to it, or you will be all abroad, when we get deeper into the story. Clear your mind of the children, or the dinner, o the new bonnet, or what not. Try if you can't forge politics, horses, prices in the City, and grievances at the club...Haven't I seen you with the greatest authors in your hands, and don't I know how ready your attention is to wander when it's a book that asks for it, instead of a person?"

Later, Miss Clack takes over---a self-righteous, yet hilarious woman. Her "BookCrossing" escapade through Mrs. Verinder's house cracked me right up!

I do have to say that the non-smoking, opium-induced theory was a little out there, in my opinion. However, taking into consideration the time in which this was written, it probably wasn't too far of a leap for the author to take.

My favorite quote in the whole book is this: "Speaking as a servant, I am deeply indebted to you. Speaking as a man, I consider you to be a person whose head is full of maggots." Bwahahaha!! Love it! ( )
  classyhomemaker | Dec 11, 2023 |
The mystery of an Indian stone, part of a statue of a Hindu god, taken and stolen, travelled all over- and of all the people involved. It’s brilliant. Not just the stone, but the writing.
I find, as I read these old classics (Moby Dick, also for ex) that they are filled with such wit that I can’t help enjoying them madly. This story, in it characterizations, is genuinely laugh out loud funny.
There’s the fantastic Betteredge, with his firm belief in ROBINSON CRUSOE, (always referenced one ALL CAPS), to which he refers for guidance and prophesy. There’s the inimitable Miss Clack, evangelical spinster, mistress of the Mothers’-Small-Clothes-Conversion-Society, who is constantly thrusting religious tracts at people despite their lack of interest- my favourite of these was: “the Life, Letters, and Labours of Miss Jane Ann Stamper” (forty-fourth edition)- the edition number sent me into snickers imagining the endless self-examination poor Stamper must have subjected herself (and her audience) to...
The mystery itself is told by many of the characters, including a Sergeant Cuff who was most likely the inspiration for Sherlock Holmes.
Add in mysterious Indians, people in various states of nervous breakdowns, laudanum, and love, and the whole story is one big romp.
I loved it.
And true love wins in the end. Always the best.
If you haven’t read this, you really should. ( )
3 vote Dabble58 | Nov 11, 2023 |
I'm taking half a star off because I don't really like the epistolary nature of the book. I find that approach somewhat lazy. But otherwise, it is a good story despite the fact that I knew who the culprit was waaaaayyyyy before the ending. The manner in which the Moonstone was stolen was ludicrous, though. (I had expected perhaps hypnotism to be involved, but although that wasn't the case, the actuality was equally ridiculous.) If I sound somewhat churlish toward Mr. Collins's literary efforts, it is probably because some fools find him to be superior to his contemporary, Charles Dickens. I find that as laughable as parts of Mr. Collins's plot. I probably would have rated the book lower, but the character of Gabriel Betteredge was a true gem. I will give credit where credit is due. ( )
  AliceAnna | Jul 30, 2023 |
Showing 1-5 of 231 (next | show all)

» Add other authors (84 possible)

Author nameRoleType of authorWork?Status
Collins, Wilkieprimary authorall editionsconfirmed
Capriolo, EttoreTranslatorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Cole, G. D. H.Introductionsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Cole, Margaret IsabelIntroductionsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Connolly, JoyIntroductionsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Dignimont, AndréIllustratorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Eliot, T. S.Introductionsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Geisler, GiselaTranslatorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Harrison, B. J.Narratorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Judge, PhoebeNarratorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Karl, Frederick R.Introductionsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Lane, Dr. LauriatIntroductionsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Langton, JamesNarratorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Laurora, HoracioTranslatorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Lindt, IngeTranslatorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Maine, G. F.General editorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Mancuso, MariarosaIntroductionsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Nayder, LillianAfterwordsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Rinaldi, MartinaTranslatorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Starrett, VincentIntroductionsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Stewart, J. I. M.Editorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Sutherland, JohnEditorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Sutherland, JohnIntroductionsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Willis, ChristineEditorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
You must log in to edit Common Knowledge data.
For more help see the Common Knowledge help page.
Canonical title
Original title
Alternative titles
Original publication date
People/Characters
Important places
Important events
Related movies
Epigraph
Dedication
IN MEMORIAM MATRIS
First words
In the first part of Robinson Crusoe, at page one hundred and twenty-nine, you will find it thus written: 'Now I saw, though too late, The Folly of beginning a Work before we count the Cost, and before we judge rightly of our own Strength to go through with it.'
Intending praise, T. S. Eliot slung an albatross around the neck of The Moonstone with his encomium: 'the first and best of detective novels.' (Introduction)
In some of my former novels, the object proposed has been to trace the influence of circumstances upon character. (Preface)
The circumstances under which The Moonstone was originally written have invested the book - in the author's mind - with an interest peculiarly its own. (Preface to a New Edition)
I address these lines - written in India - to my relatives in England. (Prologue)
Quotations
We are all of us more or less unwilling to be brought into the world. And we are all of us right.
It is one of my rules in life, never to notice what I don't understand.
Last words
(Click to show. Warning: May contain spoilers.)
(Click to show. Warning: May contain spoilers.)
(Click to show. Warning: May contain spoilers.)
(Click to show. Warning: May contain spoilers.)
(Click to show. Warning: May contain spoilers.)
Disambiguation notice
Publisher's editors
Blurbers
Original language
Canonical DDC/MDS
Canonical LCC

References to this work on external resources.

Wikipedia in English (1)

Classic Literature. Fiction. Mystery. HTML:

The Moonstone is a 19th-century novel by the master of sensation fiction, Wilkie Collins. It is considered, with The Woman in White, to be his best work, and is also commonly seen as the first English detective novel. Many of the standard ground rules for detective fiction can be found in this work, as well as examples of Collins' forward-thinking approach to the treatment of Indians and servants.

.

No library descriptions found.

Book description
Stolen from the forehead of a Hindu idol, the dazzling gem known as "The Moonstone" resurfaces at a birthday party in an English country home-with an enigmatic trio of watchful Brahmins hot on its trail. Laced with superstitions, suspicion, humor, and romance, this 1868 mystery draws readers into a compelling tale whose twists and turns range from sleepwalking to experimentation with opium.

Described by T.S. Eliot as a "master of plot and situation," Collins possessed gifts of characterization that rivaled those of his close friend, Charles Dickens. The Moonstone exhibits these skills with suspenseful and dramatic effects, as the narrative passes from one colorful character to the next. The novel is particularly distinguished by the appearance of Sergeant Cuff, a prototype of the English detective hero and the harbinger of a popular tradition of sleuthing.
Haiku summary
History is made
as first detective novel
in English language.
(passion4reading)
Rachel gets diamond
for birthday. It's stolen at
night – call detective!
(passion4reading)

Current Discussions

None

Popular covers

Quick Links

Rating

Average: (3.95)
0.5 1
1 20
1.5 3
2 66
2.5 22
3 410
3.5 101
4 882
4.5 111
5 541

Is this you?

Become a LibraryThing Author.

Penguin Australia

2 editions of this book were published by Penguin Australia.

Editions: 0140434089, 0141198877

Tantor Media

An edition of this book was published by Tantor Media.

» Publisher information page

 

About | Contact | Privacy/Terms | Help/FAQs | Blog | Store | APIs | TinyCat | Legacy Libraries | Early Reviewers | Common Knowledge | 203,207,636 books! | Top bar: Always visible