The Moonstone

Wilkie CollinsApr 2015

3.9

Word count: 235K words
Chapters: 67

Summary

Praised by T. S. Eliot as the first and best of modern English detective novels, The Moonstone draws the reader into a world of danger, suspense, and foreign menace as Collins unmasks a restrictive society marked by sexual and imperial domination. Revised reissue.

Editor's review

The Moonstone is often regarded as the founding work of the modern English detective novel, and T. S. Eliot called it the finest of its kind. Collins did not turn the mystery into a mere intellectual game; instead he brings on a succession of narrators, each with their own biases, secrets, and limitations, to tell the same story of a stolen diamond. While piecing together their testimony, the reader is also compelled to examine the class, gender, and imperial shadows of the Victorian era. The suspense is handled with great skill: the gem's exotic origin, the family's concealment, the servants' observations, and the detective's reasoning interweave layer upon layer, giving the book both the readability of genre fiction and the social insight of serious literature. It suits several consecutive nights of reading, approached as a narrative experiment about "who is telling the truth"; on a first reading, note each narrator's identity and tone, and on a second, look back at how the clues were quietly planted.

Who it's for

A good fit for

Readers who enjoy classic detective fiction and want to trace the genre's origins
Literary readers interested in multiple perspectives and unreliable narration
Readers concerned with Victorian society and imperial issues
Newcomers who want to move from light mystery into serious literature

Not a good fit for

Modern suspense readers expecting fast pacing and strong action
Readers uncomfortable with epistolary form and a slow, multi-narrator puzzle
Readers who want a single detective's point of view solving the case

Reading tips

Read in chapter order and record each narrator's identity and stance.
Mark seemingly digressive passages; later chapters usually return to them.
After finishing, revisit the opening family background and the gem's origin.
If reading in English, note the differences in tone among the narrators.

版权信息
PROLOGUE
THE STORY
FIRST PERIOD
CHAPTER I
CHAPTER II
CHAPTER III
CHAPTER IV
CHAPTER V
CHAPTER VI
CHAPTER VII
CHAPTER VIII
CHAPTER IX
CHAPTER X
CHAPTER XI
CHAPTER XII
CHAPTER XIII
CHAPTER XIV
CHAPTER XV
CHAPTER XVI
CHAPTER XVII
CHAPTER XVIII
CHAPTER XIX
CHAPTER XX
CHAPTER XXI
CHAPTER XXII
CHAPTER XXIII
SECOND PERIOD
FIRST NARRATIVE
CHAPTER I
CHAPTER II
CHAPTER III
CHAPTER IV
CHAPTER V
CHAPTER VI
CHAPTER VII
CHAPTER VIII
SECOND NARRATIVE
CHAPTER I
CHAPTER II
CHAPTER III
THIRD NARRATIVE
CHAPTER I
CHAPTER II
CHAPTER III
CHAPTER IV
CHAPTER V
CHAPTER VI
CHAPTER VII
CHAPTER VIII
CHAPTER IX
CHAPTER X
FOURTH NARRATIVE
FIFTH NARRATIVE
CHAPTER I
SIXTH NARRATIVE
I
II
III
IV
V
SEVENTH NARRATIVE
EIGHTH NARRATIVE
EPILOGUE
I
II
III

FAQ

Why is The Moonstone called a modern detective novel?

It organizes a theft, an investigation, and multiple testimonies into a complete full-length structure, and it brings the figure of the detective into everyday social relations. T. S. Eliot praised it highly, so it is often discussed as a point of origin for detective fiction.

What is special about its narrative method?

The story is told separately by several people connected to the case, and each knows and is willing to say different things. The reader must compare testimony like a detective and watch for each narrator's biases and omissions, rather than passively accepting an omniscient answer.

Can I read it without having read detective fiction before?

Yes. It is long but its threads are clear; what takes adjusting is the shifting of perspectives. Read it as a case file written by different hands, and it will flow more smoothly.

Comments

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About the author

Wilkie Collins Author · British · 1824–1889

William Wilkie Collins (1824–1889) was an English novelist, regarded as a pioneer and one of the early masters of detective fiction. He was known for intricate plotting and multi-perspective narration, building stories around mysteries of identity, secrets and turns of fate, which gave his work both suspense and dramatic tension and made it distinctive in Victorian popular literature. His novels The Woman in White and The Moonstone are widely regarded as classics of Victorian "sensation fiction." Collins was closely associated with Charles Dickens, and the two influenced each other's writing; his narrative techniques left a deep mark on later suspense and crime fiction. The library holds thirty-four of his works, including the English editions of the No Name series, with themes often touching on personal growth and foreign literature.