"The Moonstone" by Wilkie Collins is a pioneering detective tale from the late 1800s that centers on the theft of a legendary diamond and the chaos that follows. The story starts with a look back at a family dispute, introducing characters like the puzzling Colonel Herncastle and Gabriel Betteredge. A letter early in the novel describes conflict between cousins related to the diamond and its mysterious Indian past. Herncastle is shown as a troubled character, which makes the Moonstone's curse and the questions of guilt even bigger. The book hints at themes like theft and revenge, suggesting a thrilling mystery where the characters' lives are all tied to the destiny of the famous gem. It kicks off an engaging mystery that asks readers to piece together the clues.
The Moonstone
By Wilkie Collins
In this early detective story, a cursed diamond vanishes, pulling a cast of characters into a web of suspicion, revenge, and long-hidden secrets.
Summary
About the AuthorWilliam Wilkie Collins was an English novelist and playwright known especially for The Woman in White (1859), a mystery novel and early sensation novel, and for The Moonstone (1868), which established many of the ground rules of the modern detective novel and is also perhaps the earliest clear example of the police procedural genre.
William Wilkie Collins was an English novelist and playwright known especially for The Woman in White (1859), a mystery novel and early sensation novel, and for The Moonstone (1868), which established many of the ground rules of the modern detective novel and is also perhaps the earliest clear example of the police procedural genre.
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