A cursed Indian diamond vanishes from a country house the night it is given to a young heiress
The night the diamond vanished
The Moonstone is a huge yellow diamond, taken from India by a British officer during the storming of Seringapatam in 1799 and said to bring misfortune to whoever holds it. Decades later, the officer leaves it in his will to his niece, Rachel Verinder, to be presented on her eighteenth birthday at her mother's house in Yorkshire. That same night the diamond disappears from Rachel's room, and three mysterious Indian travellers are seen nearby.
Who will enjoy it
Readers who enjoy classic mysteries, Victorian novels with strong characters and the pleasure of piecing together a puzzle from several viewpoints.
What you will get
A clever, often funny Victorian mystery told by a series of witnesses, with a famous stolen diamond, a shrewd detective and a satisfying solution.
The Moonstone Facts: Pages, Genre and Setting
Genre
Classics · Detective fiction · Stolen diamond · Victorian England
Length
528 pages · ≈ 16 h
More about this book
T. S. Eliot called it the first and greatest of English detective novels, and it still reads with surprising freshness. Collins tells the story through a sequence of narrators, each with their own biases. The elderly house steward Gabriel Betteredge consults Robinson Crusoe for guidance in every crisis; a prim, preachy poor relation hands out improving pamphlets; and the dashing Franklin Blake tries to understand why Rachel suddenly refuses to speak to him.
The famous Sergeant Cuff, with his love of roses and his quiet, relentless method, investigates, and many later fictional detectives owe something to him. Clues are planted fairly, suspicion shifts from servant to guest to family member, and the final explanation is one of the most ingenious of its time. The book is long and leisurely, with Victorian digressions, but the comedy of the narrators keeps it lively, and some sad episodes give it depth.
Patient readers are richly rewarded. Anyone who enjoyed The Woman in White, or who loves Sherlock Holmes, should try it. The Penguin Classics edition includes an introduction and notes by Sandra Kemp. About 528 pages in the Penguin Classics paperback.
The Woman in White
Bleak House
The Hound of the Baskervilles
The Daughter of Time
An American Tragedy
A Doll's House
Darkness at Noon
Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde
The Good Soldier
The Red Badge of Courage
The Castle of Otranto
The Yellow Wall-Paper