Moonstone

About the Author

Moonstone is written by Wilkie Collins who was born on January 8th 1824 London and died on 23 September 1889 London. Moonstone was his greatest achievement. The first copy of Moonstone was published in 1868 by the Tinsley Brothers.

Summary / Plot

Moonstone is a detective-fiction novel based on a cursed diamond.

A girl named Rachel Verinder was gifted this diamond on turning eighteen according to her uncle’s will. The night she received the diamond she hid it in a drawer without a lock trusting that no one in the house would steal it. There were many suspects such as Gabrielle Betteridge (the head servant), Franklin Blake (Rachel’s cousin) ,Godfrey Ablewhite (a good looking lawyer and relative) three Indian men and a boy who believed that the stone belonged to the Indians. Rosanna Spearman another servant who was brought to take care of the house from a home for women who had a past of crime like theft (only Gabrielle and Rachel knew this).

Sergeant Cuff carefully inspects Miss Verinder’s sitting room and at the end states “Nobody has stolen the diamond”. Then he requests for Miss Verinder’s permission to search everyone's wardrobe which he was granted. After the search he murmured “the last rose of summer”. Although Miss Verinder didn't not grant him access to her wardrobe. Then a series of events tokk places like Rosanna’s mysterious visiting to the bank, Rosanna's death, Rachel wanting to go live with her aunt and a article in the mail which had Mr. Septimus Luker a dealer in oriental jewelry complain that three indian men were desperately trying to enter his house in the name of charity. At the end through all the efforts and safety measures made by Sergeant Cuff the three indians steal the diamonds and restore it in the holy temple in Banaras. The three indian priests announce “the eye of the moon has returned”. Franklin was under the influence of opium when he stole the dimond which was then taken way by Godfrey. He was suffocated and killed by the three indian men.

Charecters

The main characters are the three Hindu priests who had come to get the moon stone back. They were very intelligent and silently planned to get the diamond back. Rachel the daughter of sir John Verider who was gifted this cursed diamond on her eighteenth birthday and on the day of the theft she keeps silent in spite of guessing the theft which she believed according to her was true. Franklin Blake Rachel’s cousin who was very diplomatic in his moves and suggestions. Godfrey Ablewhite another relative and a good looking lawyer who was madly in love with Rachel and has two sides of his personality. Gabrielle Beterwecht the trusted head servant of Lady Verinder who is one of the narrators and an intelligent man. Rosanna Spearman who was a servant brought from a home for women known for her past thefts. Sergeant Cuff the detective who’s alert in every step of his move and described as an miserable looking figure in black who loves roses and whose eyes are as sharp as knives. Miss Clack is the narrator of the second part of the story. She is amusingly dis-likeable,claiming to be religious when she's obviously an unpleasant person. According to me Rachel and Franklin Blake are the most interesting characters because Rachel is very silent and Franklin has a very strange out look. I empathize with Rachel because she's been through a lot and finally she took the blame onto herself. Franklin and Godfrey were both in love with Rachel and therefore became enemies.

Style

The story is is based on 1st and 3rd person. The setting is described fully for each event such as Rachel’s party, the scene of the theft and the shivering sands. I think the story is good for it creates suspense and finally the clurit is someone else who the reader never imagined to be. My favorite moment was when Rachel plans to leave the house in silence though she is suspected for her own theft protecting Franklin. If I could make changes in the story I would change Godfrey Ablewhite thinning for he shouldn't have been greedy for a more lavish life and should have adopted a living as per the saying ‘Cut your coat according to its length’.

General

The writer had a reason to tell the story which was to bring alive the history of the cursed diamond. The cursed diamond is a true fact which he merged with a detective story. While reading the book the clues kept me on my edge of thoughts and after I completed many questions arose in my mind such as Cuff’s way of interrogation. I have learned that people at times do camouflage their lives such as Godfrey Ablewhite who had two sides one was his social amiability (charities etc ) and second his greed for a lavish life. Compared to other detective stories it is lighter. I would definitely recommend this book to others and read more stories and novels by this author. I give this book a rating of 5 out of 5. I haven’t read many detective novels in the past but after reading this book I feeling like I need to explore more options.

Rating

I rate this book 5 out of 5 as it is a very enjoyable read. I would suggest this book to people who like detective novels. I loved the way the Indian myth was shining through the book, because it based on a Indian myth which is very unique to see. I would like to read more such novels by the same author. It is a must read and I highly recommend it.