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The Moonstone
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February 2019 Group Read: The Moonstone by Wilkie Collins
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Bill
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rated it 4 stars
Jan 31, 2019 11:53AM
Suzy will moderate this thread. Feel free to jump in any time with your comments. Please note that there is also a spoiler thread that you can use as well.
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I'm glad this was picked for one of the February groups reads. I've wanted to read it for a long while. I started it today and so far it's a cracking good read. I'm listening with a copy of the Everyman's Library print book handy. Looking forward to our discussion.
This was my first venture in the world of Wilkie Collins years ago and I was hooked ever since. Glad I get a chance to reread this one. Looking forward to it.
Franky wrote: "This was my first venture in the world of Wilkie Collins years ago and I was hooked ever since. Glad I get a chance to reread this one. Looking forward to it."Great, Franky! Looking forward to seeing your thoughts. This is my first foray into Collins and am really enjoying so far.
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I read it in 2015. I liked how the story was presented. I look forward to seeing how the conversation goes. Enjoy!
I started it the other day. I've never read Collins before.
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Nancy wrote: "for me, it has a slight edge over his The Woman in White because of its inventiveness."I haven't read the Woman in White yet.. did enjoy the TV mini-series though... Was it faithful to the book?
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I haven't read the Woman in White yet.. did enjoy the TV mini-series though... Was it faithful..."
Not quite, but it was good.
Nancy wrote: "Bill wrote: "Nancy wrote: "for me, it has a slight edge over his The Woman in White because of its inventiveness."I haven't read the Woman in White yet.. did enjoy the TV mini-series though... Wa..."
You're enticing me to watch The Woman in White - it's been lingering in my DVR for way too long. Too many other things got in the way, not the least of which is My Brilliant Friend!
I am reminded why I loved this book so much the first time I read it. I really like how Collins sets up the mystery from the get go and the way there are various narratives and points of views. Sergeant Cuff is quite an interesting character to come in...
I started reading The moonstone this morning :) And I'd love to watch The woman in white !
@ Franky - I agree about getting many people's points of view on the matter. Sergeant Cuff isn't the only interesting character!@Iza - enjoy! I'm about 2/3 the way through and continue to be engaged, especially by Collins's writing. I have yet to watch TWIW; maybe I'll remedy that tonight.
I'm looping back to say that my sweetheart and I started watching The Woman in White last night and were immediately hooked. It looks a little like it could be a ghost story, but am reserving judgment. I also see that there are two Moonstone mini-series put on by the BBC. One was done in 2016, which is available from my library and one was done in 1996, starring one of my favorite Brit actors, Keeley Hawes. Actually the 1996 one is a movie. Has anyone watched either?
Suzy wrote: "I'm looping back to say that my sweetheart and I started watching The Woman in White last night and were immediately hooked. It looks a little like it could be a ghost story, but am reserving judgm..."I bought episode one of The Moonstone (the 2016 one), so I'll let you know. I have been put off mostly by the reviews which weren't very favorable but I figured I'd give it a try and then if I like it, buy the other episodes. I just always hate when they change the story around too much.
I definitely want to watch The Woman In White series. I really loved that novel too as well as some of Collins' other longer novels (Armadale, No Name) which are lesser known, but brilliant.
I watched the first episode of the newest version of The Moonstone and it turned me off. I'll be interested in your thoughts.
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I keep thinking this would be very difficult to translate to tv or movie unless it was well funded.
I first read this a couple of years ago, and remember enjoying it. I'm giving it a quick reread so I can join the discussion before the end of the month, and also because I have the miniseries (5 episodes, 2016) sitting on my PVR, and I want to reread the book before I watch it. See you in the Spoiler thread!
I never read this book before, but I've been wanting to for ages. Starting it tonight!
aPriL does feral sometimes wrote: "I never read this book before, but I've been wanting to for ages. Starting it tonight!"I hope you enjoy, April! I was in the same boat - wanting to read for ages and am so glad I did.
Bill wrote: "I watched the first episode of the newest version of The Moonstone and it turned me off. I'll be interested in your thoughts."Bill, not liking it too much. It does have nice costumes and some ambience and feel for the period and story, but it's like they shuffled the plot like a deck of cards and then mixed in The Days of Our Lives. I'm only basing after episode 1 though, who knows? I think part of the problem is that the novel has distinct voices that are narrating that the film just can't capture.
Franky wrote: "Bill wrote: "I watched the first episode of the newest version of The Moonstone and it turned me off. I'll be interested in your thoughts."Bill, not liking it too much. It does have nice costumes..."
I just watched the first episode over supper, and I'm definitely underwhelmed. I'll keep going and watch the others over the next few days, but more because I want to clear the space on my PVR than because I'm feeling compelled to watch it.
Suki wrote: "Franky wrote: "Bill wrote: "I watched the first episode of the newest version of The Moonstone and it turned me off. I'll be interested in your thoughts."Bill, not liking it too much. It does hav..."
Yeah, I'll probably go ahead and check out the second episode.
I'll be interested to hear your thoughts on the following episodes.
I'm listening to the audiobook now and greatly enjoying it. The best part is all the homilies and wisdom spouted by Betteredge. The character is lovable and the reader is super as long as you can take the deliberate pace.
Betteredge is as cute as a puppy! I really like him.
I probably would have enjoyed the show more if I hadn't read the book, but for me it really fell short.
Russell wrote: "I'm listening to the audiobook now and greatly enjoying it. The best part is all the homilies and wisdom spouted by Betteredge. The character is lovable and the reader is super as long as you can t..."Who is the narrator of your version? (there are seemingly dozens of audiobook versions) I listened to the one read by James Langton, available from Overdrive. It was fun to listen to and he really added to the experience!
Looping back about The Woman in White tv series recently aired by Masterpiece here in the States. We have one episode to go. We have been enjoying it, but both feel it is totally anxiety provoking! More like early Steven King than Agatha Christie. We can't do more than one episode at a time - too nerve-wracking!
Suzy wrote: "Russell wrote: "I'm listening to the audiobook now and greatly enjoying it. The best part is all the homilies and wisdom spouted by Betteredge. The character is lovable and the reader is super as l..."It's Naxos Audiobooks. The narrator is listed as "Ronald Pickup and cast." I just finished disk 8 of 17. The bible-thumping niece character is now the narrator.
Russell wrote: "Suzy wrote: "Russell wrote: "I'm listening to the audiobook now and greatly enjoying it. The best part is all the homilies and wisdom spouted by Betteredge. The character is lovable and the reader ..."Listening to books with a cast is sometimes a nice change of pace from a single narrator. "Miss Clack" drove me nuts! :)
Suzy wrote: "Looping back about The Woman in White tv series recently aired by Masterpiece here in the States. We have one episode to go. We have been enjoying it, but both feel it is totally anxiety provoking!..."Suzy, Nice I'll have to check out that series. I want to go back and reread that novel as well.
Russell, I agree about Betteridge. Interesting character for sure with his doses of ideas about life. (I'll have to read Robinson Crusoe one of these days; he has me interested).
I'm nearly done with the audiobook and still enjoying it greatly. I'm struck by how patronizing the men are to the women, but it's clearly meant to be in a dutiful, protective way. They all truly think women are emotionally frail and of weak mind, thus in need of a man to supervise them and their money. The whole class structure is totally accepted, with servants and gentry alike considering the wealthy the "betters" of the poor. It's clear the author has no idea that this might one day be considered offensive.
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Not to be argumentative really, but why would he even have stopped to consider whether 150+ years later people might find it offensive when it is his every day reality? Is this your first outing with Victorian literature, by the way?
I'm sure he wouldn't, but it's still interesting to wonder what the gentlemen of the day would have thought of current views about their values. As for the second question, no, it isn't, but it is certainly much more chauvinistic than anything else of that era that I have read, including Trollope, Dickens, and even Betteredge's favorite (pre-Victorian) Robinson Crusoe.
