From the Bookshelf of Never too Late to Read Classics…

The Moonstone

Wilkie Collins

Start date: September 18, 2016

Finish date: October 18, 2016

Discussion: "Let us Chat a Moment!"

Discussion leader: Nicole Bock

Why we're reading this: Tied for First Place
19th-century British
Epistolary novel, generally considered the first detective novel…more
[close] Tied for First Place
19th-century British
Epistolary novel, generally considered the first detective novel in the English language

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What Members Thought

Nov 02, 2022 Chrissie rated it it was amazing

Shelves: england, classics, free, 2023-read, mystery, gothic, favorites, adventure, audible-uk, long

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I am utterly amazed that I sat glued to this all the way through. Why? Because it is so very different from the books I usually enjoy. This is a fun and engaging mystery. It is said to be the first English detective novel! Usually, I am captivated by books more down to earth and realistic in style. That I enjoyed this so very much is what makes it amazing for me.

I want to explain the draw of this book.

A mystery is to be solved. Who has taken th ...more

47 likes · Like · see review

Aug 19, 2009 Laura rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: audio-books, classics, victorians, read-2009

Available at LibriVox. What a splendid book, I prefer it compared with The Woman in White.

3 likes · Like · see review

Apr 25, 2012 Ellen Librarian rated it liked it

This book is widely acknowledged to be the first mystery but mystery lovers may be somewhat disappointed in the solution. I was. But there are enough fun plot twists and turns to make up for that. The book is really about the characters. Collins does an amazing job of making the characters so real you feel you can see them. That and his enlightened attitude toward race and class are what make this book a classic, in my opinion.

Parts of the book are slow while others are page turners. But my abso ...more

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May 11, 2018 Tom Britz rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: favorites

Late in 2017 I read my first book by Wilkie Collins, The Woman In White. It was by far one of my best reads of 2017. Now here only five months into 2018 and I've just finished my second Wilkie Collins novel, and it is also a dynamite read. It will go down as one of this year's best, without a doubt.
I laughed and was amazed at the twists and turns of this "first English language detective novel". The story may sound familiar to some, because it has been imitated by many. This is the story of a h ...more

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Apr 18, 2007 Jenn rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: 0010-projectread, classic

This book was good, though I must admit that I prefer Collins' The Woman in White. Some memorable characters in The Moonstone are Betteridge, with his sense of humor and fascination with sleuthing, and the great Sergeant Cuff ... a similar character to Doyle's Sherlock Holmes. I found Cuff to be an enjoyable surprise in the book. Some stretches of the book were rather slow, but for the most part, this is an amusing read. ...more

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