Goodreads | The Moonstone/The Haunted Hotel/My Lady's Money

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Keely rated it:

(review of isbn 0375757856)

05/11/08

bookshelves: mystery, novel

Read in May, 2008

recommended to Keely by: Ama

Perhaps it is not surprising that I managed to guess the 'whom', if not the how of this prototype mystery. What may be somewhat of a surprise is that this did not make the book seem tedious, nor did it become a plodding step-by-step towards inevitability like many mysteries are.

Like The Virginian, this predecessor of a genre never seems to fall into the same traps as its innumerable followers. Indeed, with both these books, the focus...more

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Kathryn rated it:

(review of isbn 0140620133)

09/28/08

bookshelves: classics-i-have-read, mystery, tyler-and-kate-bookclub

Read in September, 2008

recommends it for: those wishing to read one of the first mystery novels and realize why it's still so good!

This is supposedly one of the first mystery novels ever published and is believed to introduce the prototype for the English detective hero character. It is also the first book in the Tyler-and-Kate Book Club; I will always love it because it's one of the only books Tyler and I could decide on to read together and it was wonderfully absorbing and provided us with lots of grand characters and interesting plot twists to enjoy—and the mystery to ponder!

It's certainly very long and often ver...more

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Kevin rated it:

(review of isbn 0375757856)

06/05/08

Read in December, 2005

One of the earliest examples of Detective or Sensation Fiction, The Moonstone does not disappoint for strong narrative or intriguing characters. The novel is essentially epistolary, with four or five main characters all recording their knowledge of the famous eponymous, stolen from India by a British soldier and rumored to be cursed. Although Collins does not use the multiple narrators to establish multiple viewpoints of a similar scene, he does establish a certain amount of cynical dista...more One of the earliest examples of Detective or Sensation Fiction, The Moonstone does not disappoint for strong narrative or intriguing characters. The novel is essentially epistolary, with four or five main characters all recording their knowledge of the famous eponymous, stolen from India by a British soldier and rumored to be cursed. Although Collins does not use the multiple narrators to establish multiple viewpoints of a similar scene, he does establish a certain amount of cynical distance between the reader and his characters, particularly the butler, Gabriel Betteridge, and a young, devoutly religious, philanthropist. While Betteridge in particular did arouse this reader’s sympathy, Collins continually invites us to laugh at the old man’s peculiarities and prejudices.

The mystery itself (as noted above, The Moonstone is credited with being the first detective novel) was always engaging, although the pivotal role played by an opium-induced dream put a little too much deux in the machina for my taste (clues about opium were admittedly dropped much earlier in the novel, so Collins didn’t completely pull the rug out from under his readers). As is often the case with mysteries (no pun intended), I wasn’t very interested in teasing out the clues in The Moonstone, but the narrative structure itself gave the perpetrator away. After all, if we’re meant to use clues dropped by the author to guess the criminal, then it must be a character already introduced in the novel (bringing in a previously unmentioned suspect at the end ruins the whole exercise).

In the case of The Moonstone, Collins clearly sets up two male rivals, indicating that the one who doesn’t do any narrating must be the thief (while a guilty narrator who lies to the reader about the facts of the case would be very interesting, it seemed like a bit too much for the first mystery novel). The real mystery (at least for me) was the manner is which the diamond was stolen and not who stole it, but the real pleasure is in the amusing characters and mid-nineteenth century details.
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Dfordoom rated it:

(review of isbn 0375757856)

04/20/08

bookshelves: crime-mystery

Read in September, 2007

The Moonstone, published in 1868, occupies an important place in the history of the crime novel. Wilkie Collins certainly didn’t the invent the detective story, but he was one of its earliest exponents and the huge success of his “sensation novels” such as The Woman in White and The Moonstone helped to create the market for this genre, and thus contributed to the detective fiction boom of the late 19th century. The Moonstone is more than just a crime story. C...more The Moonstone, published in 1868, occupies an important place in the history of the crime novel. Wilkie Collins certainly didn’t the invent the detective story, but he was one of its earliest exponents and the huge success of his “sensation novels” such as The Woman in White and The Moonstone helped to create the market for this genre, and thus contributed to the detective fiction boom of the late 19th century. The Moonstone is more than just a crime story. Collins combines his mystery with some social satire and some pertinent observations on subjects such as colonialism and the position of women. The book opens with the theft by an English army officer of a fabulous diamond from an Indian shrine. The diamond is not destined to bring happiness either to the man who originally stole it or to the members of his family to whom it is subsequently passed on, and the Brahmins charged with recovery of the stone are determined to get it back even it takes them decades to do so. The jewel is bequeathed to young Rachel Verinder, but on the very night when her cousin Franklin Blake presents her with it the moonstone mysteriously disappears. The unravelling of the mystery takes place in a typically leisurely 19th century style, but the writing is so witty and so entertaining that there’s never any danger of boredom. The cast of colourful subsidiary characters also helps to maintain interest. The structure of the novel is fiendishly complex, with multiple narrators and multiple points of view, but Collins draws the threads together with great skill. The very different personalities of the various narrators (such as the religious fanatic Miss Clack, the ageing but brilliant police detective whose real passion is roses rather than crime and the family steward who firmly believes that the answer to every problems can be found in the pages of Robinson Crusoe) and their very different perspectives on the case also add to the interest. Collins has a great deal of fun at the expense of the truly appalling Miss Clack! The unfortunate medical man, Ezra Jennings, is one of those wonderful characters who make 19th century English novels worth reading. The solution to the mystery is suitably ingenious and the ending is exceptionally satisfying. A marvellous book, and not just for fans of crime fiction....less

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Dan rated it:

(review of isbn 0375757856)

05/02/08

Read in April, 2008

Lauren's review and Anna's comment let me know I'd probably like this book. I have to say I found it far better than I expected even with those recommendations.

The Moonstone is a detective novel with somewhere around eleven detectives--each piecing together their own small part and only in their sharing, contrasting, and comparing does the whole picture become available to the reader. The book moves from tense to funny with great ease, and for a while it feels like it might be a drawing room...more

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Sarah rated it:

(review of isbn 0375757856)

10/19/07

Read in November, 2007

Okay, I'm going to go out there with that five star rating just to motivate everyone who might possibly want to read a mid 19th century novel to GO READ THIS NOVEL, like, now, rather than sort of, y'know, someday, which is when I myself usually read mid-19th century novels that aren't actually in my dissertation.

This book: it's super good. It's witty and the characters are great and the plot is super satisfying. There are couple of dodgy not-fully-narratively-developed things towa...more

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bookyeti rated it:

(review of isbn 0375757856)

11/03/08

bookshelves: classics, own, reviewed

Magnum opus of suspense and intrigue

T.S. Eliot was not exaggerating when he dubbed Collins’ masterpiece “the first, the longest, and the best of modern English detective novels”. The Moonstone, first published in 1868, is the magnum opus of suspense and intrigue that will surely please the avid mystery and/or classics buff.

The adventure begins when the priceless yellow diamond from India, known as the ‘Moonstone’, is brought to English as spoils of war and is best...more Magnum opus of suspense and intrigue

T.S. Eliot was not exaggerating when he dubbed Collins’ masterpiece “the first, the longest, and the best of modern English detective novels”. The Moonstone, first published in 1868, is the magnum opus of suspense and intrigue that will surely please the avid mystery and/or classics buff.

The adventure begins when the priceless yellow diamond from India, known as the ‘Moonstone’, is brought to English as spoils of war and is bestowed upon the spirited Rachel Verrinder on her 18th birthday. Chaos soon commences. The valuable jewel is stolen that very night and the entire household falls under suspicion – including a hunchbacked maid, an assemblage of enigmatic Indian jugglers, and Miss Verrinder’s cousin Mr. Franklin Blake. Suspicion of thievery does not even escape Miss Verrinder herself. The famed Sergeant Cuff is summoned to the house to try and make sense of the baffling mystery of the diamond’s disappearance and the strange events that ensue.

The Moonstone is comprised of three novelettes and a handful of sub-sections, each narrated by three individuals (and a handful of other characters writing shorter supporting memoirs), with their own whimsical writing styles and detailed anecdotes about their adventures surrounding the jewel’s disappearance and the aftermath. Their varying perspectives on incidents throw interesting light on the events unraveling around the reader. Introducing the novel is the household’s elderly and garrulous manservant, Mr. Gabriel Betteredge, with his witty maxims and proverbial quotes from his personal bible, “Robinson Crusoe”. The pious and almost-fanatical Miss Clack’s cold recital of events, is followed soon after by Mr. Franklin Blake’s narrative of events, and the mystery’s final and most ingenious outcome. It will not disappoint.

I leave you with a bit of insight bestowed upon us by the lovable and amusing Mr. Betteredge:

“When my spirits are bad — Robinson Crusoe. When I want advice — Robinson Crusoe. In past times when my wife plagued me; in present times when I have had a drop too much — Robinson Crusoe. I have worn out six stout Robinson Crusoes with hard work in my service. On my lady’s last birthday she gave me a seventh. I took a drop too much on the strength of it; and Robinson Crusoe put me right again. Price four shillings and sixpence, bound in blue, with a picture into the bargain. Still, this don’t look much like starting the story of the Diamond — does it? I seem to be wandering off in search of Lord knows what, Lord knows where. We will take a new sheet of paper, if you please, and begin over again, with my best respects to you.”

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Will rated it:

(review of isbn 0140620133)

02/11/08

Read in July, 2007

recommends it for: detective novel lovers

My girlfriend told me that she once neeeds to read this book in her form one secondary school, and I couldn't believe that. As I'm studying law now, I wonder if the leading man in the novel can raise the defence as lacking the mens rea (sane automatism? involuntary intoxication leads to automatism?). Also, I don't think you can demostrate the sleep-walking episode like the one described in the book after so long a period of time of the accomplished thievery.

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Lauren rated it:

(review of isbn 0375757856)

04/06/08

Read in January, 2007

recommends it for: people interested in the history of the "mystery" genre, people who enjoy british literature

I was delighted to find this and when I read it I devoured it. It is a well-written mystery with fleshed-out characters and an unconventional narrative structure. What more can a girl ask for? Collins' other novel, "The Woman in White", is just as good. For a 19th-Century Brit Lit enthusiast, these are perfect vacation books, especially if that vacation happens to include being curled up by the fireplace reading well into the night.

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Jackie "the Librarian" rated it:

(review of isbn 0375757856)

09/24/07

bookshelves: adultfiction, classicsworthreading, mysteries

Read in January, 1990

recommends it for: mystery readers

Supposedly the first ever mystery novel. Told from the viewpoint of multiple characters, this is the story of a cursed gem brought to England from India, and given as a birthday gift, only to disappear.
Sleepwalking, a trio of mysterious turban-wearing Indians, forbidding sea cliffs, shifting sands, and a butler who loves Robinson Crusoe. What could be better! An excellent alternative to Dickens. The Woman in White is really good, too.

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Erik rated it:

(review of isbn 0375757856)

05/09/08

Liked this one much more than I liked his other biggie, "The Woman in White," but a friend tells me "Armadale" is the best. I'll have to see. I loved the multiple narrators in this book and that each of them truly sounded different from the others. In short, I actually found myself giving a shit about who stole that big jewel and where it ended up.

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Duy rated it:

(review of isbn 0375757856)

10/05/08

bookshelves: currently-reading

The way that the author used in this book is very strange to me. It was not an descriptive story like other, instead, the story was written in 3 narratives. Each narrative had their own way to express their idea. I guest the purpose is let readers think and understand what the story is by themself.

The Moonstone by Wilkie Collins was a story about an Indian diamond, an ancient holy curse, and also the object of the promise by three Hindu priests, which is given to Rachel on her birthday.

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Yuhsinghuang rated it:

(review of isbn 0582430259)

10/05/08

p.1-p.105
#10
I expected the moonstone, a diamond which would bring disaster to the people who stole it, would cause more events, such as the people who were concerned to the diamond were murdered with time. I expected the story should be more exciting and the murder was detected by a smart detective at the end of the story. The diamond was surrounded an Indian language; it should attract people’s desires to fight, or the descendant whose parents was killed because of the fight of the diamon...more

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Anh rated it:

(review of isbn 0375757856)

09/26/08

After I read "The Moonstone" which is written by Wilkie Collins, I'm confused by the technique the author used to tell the story. In the beginning, the story looked like about mystery of a big yellow diamond named Moonstone. This diamond was a part of a holy god in India. It was taken by a high position soldier. The soldier carried back not only a diamond but also a curse that whoever hold it will have a dreadful time. I think the story is about a black magic, the curse of the Moonst...more After I read "The Moonstone" which is written by Wilkie Collins, I'm confused by the technique the author used to tell the story. In the beginning, the story looked like about mystery of a big yellow diamond named Moonstone. This diamond was a part of a holy god in India. It was taken by a high position soldier. The soldier carried back not only a diamond but also a curse that whoever hold it will have a dreadful time. I think the story is about a black magic, the curse of the Moonstone. Three mysterious Indians priests in the story help strengthening my expectation. I found nothing about them, only kept following anyone who carried the diamond and did a little magic with a small boy. By the time the diamond was stolen, the tone of the story was turned into a detective mode. The first part with 15 chapters is a story that was told by Gabriel Betteredge, a head servant of Lady Julia Verinder. I can follow all the events about the stealing of the diamond. I am a little confused with many characters that came up in the situation. However, I understand the situation and excited with the plot that who stole the diamond from Rachel’s room, three Indian priests, Franklin Blake, Godfrey Ablewhite, Rosanna Spearman or Rachel herself. In the first part, the author confused me with many plots and distracted me by Rosanna Spearman. A secret beach with her unclear friend made me think that she took the diamond away. The more confusion is caused in part two that the author told the story from different 6 narratives. They told me the same story but from different point of view. This technique reminds me a movie I saw a couple months ago, Vintage Point. A movie is about the terrorists trying to kill the US president in Spain. The story told and retold the same story but from the different characters. Back to the story I read, I have to stop and go back to read some of the previous chapter to figure out some characters that I forgot or who is this person that came in the middle of this story. Fortunately, I did not be confused much with the plot. I kept reading and excited about who stole the diamond and why. I also want to know the effect from the curse of the diamond too. Finally the suspect was reveal at the end of this story and also his motive. It is quite a good but simple plan that person who stole the diamond did. He has a simple motive that he need money. I found no connection between the curse and the crime. May be the death of the person who stole the diamond, a terrible time of those who had something to do with this diamond are the curse. As long as I finished reading the story, I can say that this is a good story.
101 pages
Question # 12...less

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Minkyoungsung rated it:

(review of isbn 0375757856)

09/19/08

Read in September, 2008

Q12
While I was reading this book, I got confused about the story of this book. It was complicated to understand because there are many speakers describing the story that what’s going on and talking about each desire and mind of them even in English; in addition, I was focusing on who stolen the moonstone, so it’s hard to guess it. Actually, I don’t like reading a mystery story, so I was thinking that why I chose this book...; however, I thought that there is a little less tense moment th...more

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Kirsti rated it:

(review of isbn 0375757856)

09/08/08

bookshelves: fiction, mystery

Read in September, 2008

recommends it for: Escapists, Anglophiles

Not quite as good as The Woman in White, but still a very entertaining romp.

This is a detective story/adventure/mystery/romance told by several different narrators. A fantastic read, especially on a rainy day (or several rainy days, as it is rather long).

Here are some of my favorite quotations from the novel:

"The Moonstone will have its vengeance yet on you and yours!"

I agree with the late William Cobbett about picking a wife. See that she chews her food well an...more

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Kristina rated it:

(review of isbn 0192833383)

08/28/07

recommends it for: lovers of victorian lit, gothic

If you haven't read Wilkie Collins yet and you like Bronte and/or Dickens, what are you waiting for?

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Miriam rated it:

(review of isbn 0375757856)

12/07/07

19th Century ghost story/detective story/set in big fancy British mansion. LOVE THIS.

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Gena rated it:

(review of isbn 0375757856)

08/23/08

Read in August, 2008

I read this book for the first time over 5 years ago. I loved it, but several years later couldn't remember much more about it other than that. Decided to reread it after putting down what I thought was a poor example of a Victorian thriller/suspense novel (The Dark Lantern), and I'm glad I did. It was a commitment though- this book is loooooong! Totally worth it though, and interesting to think about what it must have been like to have something like this to read before TV came along. It was or...more

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Terence rated it:

(review of isbn 0375757856)

08/11/08

bookshelves: mysteries

Read in August, 2008

Though the story doesn't really get moving until page 100, I enjoyed "The Moonstone." It's a bit reminiscent of "Rashomon," Akira Kurosawa's tale of rape and murder told from a variety of viewpoints. Not that we see a crime committed from different views but the novel is a series of "narratives" composed by both principals and a couple of peripheral characters, all of whom interpret the crime and what follows in a variety of ways.

Like many a 19th century novel, ...more Though the story doesn't really get moving until page 100, I enjoyed "The Moonstone." It's a bit reminiscent of "Rashomon," Akira Kurosawa's tale of rape and murder told from a variety of viewpoints. Not that we see a crime committed from different views but the novel is a series of "narratives" composed by both principals and a couple of peripheral characters, all of whom interpret the crime and what follows in a variety of ways.

Like many a 19th century novel, "The Moonstone" is a bit melodramatic and the motivations of some of the characters don't quite ring true to the late-20th century/21st century mind (particularly those of Rachel Verinder) but it's well paced and it explores how people act on what they perceive and what can ensue when you act before knowing all the facts.

I particularly liked the characters of Gabriel Betteredge and Sgt. Cuff. Betteredge is the irascible old servant/major domo of the Verinder family, who, nevertheless, possesses a sharp, sympathetic mind. His "narrative" takes up the first third of the book and, to mind mind, is the best written and most entertaining.

Sgt. Cuff is the prototype of that type of fictional detective brought to its fullest expression in Sherlock Holmes 30 years after the publication of this novel. Cuff arrives at the Verinder manse and proceeds to assemble the clues in a dispassionate, impartial manner, coming to conclusion that no one is willing to accept. His conclusion is in error but that's only because he's denied knowledge of a crucial clue due to the untimely illness of a dinner guest. He's also much more likable and "human" than Holmes, who can, often, come off as entirely inhuman in his dispassion and impartiality. Cuff also reminds me of another English detective -- Christopher Foyle (as played by Michael Kitchen) from the PBS Mystery series, "Foyle's War." Both characters are passionately committed to solving crimes, regardless of where the evidence leads.

If you're interested, Kate Summerscale's "The Suspicions of Mister Whicher" retails the actual crime and detective that inspired Collins, and is also worth reading....less

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