Para muchos la mejor novela policíaca escrita hasta la fecha, ‘La piedra lunar’ cuenta la historia de cómo una valiosa joya, de la que se cuentan terribles leyendas, llega a las manos de su joven heredera en la cena de celebración del cumpleaños de esta. Pero esa misma noche, en la mansión donde se han reunido todos los invitados, el diamante desaparece abriendo el misterio de qué ha pasado y quién lo ha robado.

Con este libro Collins volvió a armar una novela epistolar, como ya había hecho con la brillante ‘La mujer de blanco’, y desarrolla una trama que engancha como el pegamento a través de diarios, testimonios y los diferentes puntos de vista de los protagonistas de la historia. Funciona porque más allá de ofrecer un caso misterioso con su correspondiente investigación, profundiza en las costumbres de la sociedad victoriana y construye firmemente a todos los personajes, quedando estos perfectamente delineados. A ello se le suma el indiscutible talento del autor a la hora de narrar y de escribir un texto que sorprende por la originalidad de su argumento, sus giros y por lo entretenido que es.

Wilkie Collins es uno de los autores más queridos de la época victoriana y no es para menos. Es un escritor muy completo que consigue seguir conectando con los lectores después de tantos años; la cantidad de reediciones que siguen apareciendo de sus obras lo demuestran. No me cansaré de recomendarlo.

I can see why I found it fascinating in my youth, it is an enjoyable and well written precursor to well known detective novels.

Although I'd read a couple of Collins' short stories, prior to opening this classic novel (one of two the author is best known for) I'd never encountered any of his long fiction. But I'd long regarded this book as a must-read; so the occasion of a group read of it in one of my Goodreads groups provided a welcome impetus to finally read it. It proved to be a thoroughly satisfying reading experience, and hopefully won't be my last from this author, since I have two more of his novels on my to-read shelf.

I've shelved this both as "general fiction" and as "mystery-crime fiction." In many respects, it's a typical Victorian classic novel of manners, with many stylistic characteristics in common with other 19th-century British authors, especially Dickens (who was a great friend of Collins). The study of human character and human relationships is similar in feel and quality to what the reader would find in other well-written novels of the day. But the central strand of the plot concerns an unusually large, yellow-tinted fictional diamond (the titular "Moonstone"), supposedly sacred to the Asian Indian moon god, and plundered from his temple by medieval Moslem conquerors. In the novel's Prologue, we learn how this jewel was supposedly stolen again, from the treasure vault of a Moslem sultan, by a shady British army officer at the real-life conquest of Seringapatam by the East India Company in 1799. Our main story takes place ca. 50 years later, in England in 1848-49; and we learn on the first page of that part that there the diamond disappeared yet again, under mysterious circumstances. How and why will be the central question of the book, making it, as one reviewer described it, a "proto-mystery," published before the mystery genre was a book-trade thing, but a recognizable influence on the genre novels and stories of the later 1800s and beyond.

Collins was definitely a writer of the Romantic school, like Dickens, and like such writers as Doyle, Mary Elizabeth Braddon, and Dostoevsky, all of whom he perhaps influenced. Exotic elements and frank appeals to an array of emotions abound here. But the novel also has a real vein of humor, sometimes satiric humor of the Juvenalian sort. It's written in the epistolary style --that is, as a succession of memoranda, journal entries, and letters written by various characters (the prologue is also a letter); the diction is convoluted, in Victorian and Romantic fashion, with no shortage of big words, and the speaking style of the characters in their dialogue tends to be formal, as it actually was in the upper and middle class speech of that day. Some modern readers find these features off-putting (though I'm not among those that do). But the characterizations (both of characters you like and those you detest!) are masterful and enormously lifelike, and the crafting of the plot is perfect (or, as Dorothy Sayers said of the novel as a whole, "...about as near perfection as anything of its kind can be"). The mystery is a genuine puzzler; I guessed part (but only part!) of the solution fairly early on, and other aspects of the problem eventually had me completely mystified. (And even at times questioning everything I had believed about it up to that point!)

It can fairly be said that this is not a deep novel of ideas, in terms of messaging and thought content. Some reviewers profess to discern an anti-imperialist or anti-colonialist message here. Personally, I don't. Collins certainly finds it morally objectionable, and even criminal, to murder Indian natives and steal their sacred objects; but all of the decent English characters here agree with him, even if they have no apparent problem with forcibly conquering and dominating the same natives' country. There are aspects of the tale that cast Victorian class snobbery in an ugly light; but I think this is a perception that modern readers bring to it, rather than one that Collins is trying to create. An important character, Miss Drusilla Clack, is a mercilessly depicted religious zealot who thinks that she and her own ultra-ascetic, censorious ilk are the only true Christians; but I don't think Collins agreed with her on that, and I honestly don't think he intended to use her to attack Christianity, or religion as such, but rather just to pillory distortions of Christian faith. I do think there is ultimately a positive racial message here; but it's relatively subtle. So this is perhaps not a Great Novel, in the sense that some classic novels with deep moral and spiritual content are. But it's certainly a very, very good one, that I'd recommend unhesitatingly to any readers who enjoy older fiction, or who would like to start exploring it.

Note: The Dodd Mead Great Illustrated Classics edition that I read is enhanced by several black-and-white plates that reproduce paintings or drawings of Collins at various stages of his life, or illustrating scenes from the novel, and also by a number of excellent black-and-white drawings of scenes in the tale done by William Sharp, and copyrighted in 1944 (apparently for an earlier printing by Doubleday). It has a short (a bit over four pages) Introduction by Basil Davenport that mostly just summarizes Collins' life and writing career; it touches on the features of the real-life Saville Kent case that suggest aspects of this novel, but doesn't really present spoilers as such. (Davenport makes one major blooper here, though, where he confuses a "bloodstained nightgown" with a paint-stained one!)

One of my favorite novels I have read this year. The use of different people's characters telling the narrative was entertaining. My favorite was Miss Clack and her humorous attempts of Christian conversion. The plot at the time was unique and the use of opium in a way to solve the case. The ending tied up all the lose ends including the fate of the Moonstone diamond and the three Indians. I also look at Robinson Crusoe in a new light thanks to Betteredge's unique interpretation of it!

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 verbose—I usually find a fast-pace to be more appealing in a mystery—but I believe this was more a character-driven story than a plot-driven one (in his preface, Collins says that means to "trace the influence of character on circumstance") and the mystery (though it was deep and fascinating) was second to the characterization since the tale is told in Narrative form from some half-dozen characters. I feel as if I have befriended Betteredge and his dog-eared and beloved "Robinson Crusoe," suffered through an acquaintance with Miss Clack and her hideous pamphlets, sniffed roses beside Sargent Cuff and felt some of the deep love and longing of Ezra Jennings. Kudos, kudos, Mr. Collins!

I'd also like to point out that this is an excellent mystery for those who prefer a more intellectual and thought-process sort of mystery, rather that one focused on murder.

You get what you deserve in this book! Steal a big moonstone (read: diamond!) from a moon god statute, and you will get what you deserve. John Herncastle's family certainly did. His unlucky niece inherited that very large stone. . .

From there we have a birthday parties, romance, a smoking cessation program, Indian (East) Jugglers, quicksand, suicide, murders, opium, lawyers, an embezzler and a moneylender. Oh, yeah. And Moon God revenge. Don't forget that.

There's gotta be a movie of this. Will be looking for it. . . .

Moonstone is considered to be the first detective novel. The book is easy to get into, unlike some other novels of the time. We learn of the history of the Moonstone and its value, so when it mysteriously disappears, all our suspects. Call in the famous Sergeant Cuff and as his sidekick we have Gabriel Betteredge, a respected servant who always seems to get the right advice when he opens up his much used copy of Robinson Crusoe.
This book kept me interested throughout. My chief complaint is that at times I found it to be too repetitive as details are rehashed, as we are learning all the clues from multiple points of view.
This book is definitely historically significant to our modern day detective novels. The similarities are remarkable. All in all, a very enjoyable book. I definitely plan to read The Woman in White after reading this one.

It took me about seven months to finish this book. I listened to it at night on Kindle via text-to-speech. "The Moonstone" is a mystery involving the theft of an enormous Indian diamond called The Moonstone which is fated to be cursed. The mystery is who stole it the night of Miss Rachel Verinder's birthday. She had shortly received the diamond as a bequest from a deceased uncle, carried by the dashing young Mr. Franklin Blake on his travel to England.

According to Wikipedia, this is the first English detective novel. It's also an interesting use of the Epistolary format, including varied narratives, most interestingly that of the Gabriel Betteridge, the trusted house steward of Lady Verinder, Rachel's mother. I don't know if Collins intended for Betteridge's point of view to be so hilarious but it was. Most hilarious is his obsession with the novel Robinson Crusoe. He takes the same amount of inspiration and guidance from this book that people might take from The Bible. He's also really opinionated and not afraid to express his opinion. Miss Clack's narrative is more ironicly humorous. She is a very puritanical woman who is constantly trying to foist off her Christian pamphlets on others, but demonstrates few Christian virtues in other ways.

Interestingly enough, the true detective, Sergeant Cuff, seems to have the smallest narrative. I can't help but think this was done on purpose. If he was around to solve the mystery for most of the book, I think it would have ended a lot sooner. I liked his appreciation for roses, not quite what you would expect from a gruff police investigator.

What is sad is the narrative of Rosanna Spearman, a misunderstood and unfortunate young woman who was unlucky enough to fall in love with a man who was completely unattainable in every way, despite her efforts to protect him from what she viewed as his own crime. This part made me feel deeply for Rosanna, merely a victim of chance and circumstance.

Franklin Blake is a character that one is automatically predisposed to believe the worst about. He's the definition of 'amiable rogue' and 'dilettante.'. However, he is revealed to have a depth of character that one wouldn't expect at first glance.

Miss Rachel Verinder herself has no narrative, but she is seen through the eyes of other characters. I felt that she was probably the least interesting of the major characters. She reads as quite typical of a young woman of her class, but she is clearly a decent and kind woman.

There is a bit of a romance in the story that I found sweet and appealing, not distracting. It ties into the story and it reveals much about two of the characters.

To be honest, I probably could have gleaned a lot more from this book if my reading had not been so episodic. However, I do appreciate Collins' skill with writing a clever detective story, and his use of so many narratives, having done so cohesively. While each narrator has a different voice, it all comes together very pleasingly. He seemed to take a lot of time develop the characters, even the less important ones.

Social issues I felt that this novel touches on (My opinion, mind you, since I made an effort not to read up on The Moonstone before writing my review.):

*Social Strata--Boundaries between the social classes and where they intersect intimately in some ways, but most doors are largely closed between the classes. You do see that the middle class seems to be absorbing the upper class as society changes.
*The roles of women in society
*The change in society in which the landed gentry's way of life is dying in favor or the middle class development.
*Imperialism and appropriation of treasured objects from colonized lands

Readers who want a more thorough and expert analysis of this book can look to these resources:

The Moonstone Wikipedia page

SparkNotes The Moonstone page

Che delizia, che delizia! Thrilleristi da quattro soldi che scrivete oggi le vostre misere storielle, con quei personaggi così dozzinali, così stereotipati, fate per favore lo sforzo di leggervi Wilkie Collins e imparate cosa vuol dire costruire un buon libro giallo, creare suspense, caratterizzare e rendere unici i personaggi, descrivere ambienti e situazioni in modo chiaro e accattivante, tenere incollato il lettore alle pagine. Imparate a scrivere, perdinci! Siate un po' più ambiziosi! Ai registi di fiction invece dico di guardare (si trovano facilmente su youtube) le puntate dello sceneggiato in bianco e nero, tratto dal libro nel 1972, diretto da Anton Giulio Majano e adattato da Fruttero e Lucentini. Zero effetti speciali, tante ingenuità, ma un piccolo gioiellino di una Tv ormai morta e sepolta.

Jar of Death Pick #32

3.5 Stars

Well it took a while but I finished it!

The Moonstone is a classic that you dont hear much about. Despite its literary significance. The Moonstone is considered by most people to be the first detective novel. Written in 1868 The Moonstone is the lesser known of Wilkie Collins works, with the best known being The Woman in White(which is also on my TBR). But to many The Moonstone is considered his greatest work.

In it's time The Moonstone was considered both controversial and surprisingly progressive. The novel deals with drug addiction, the treatment of women and its known for its respectful(for its time)portrayal of Indians(from India).

It took me sometime to read this book but dont let that make you think that this book isn't good. I enjoyed my time reading it but I just needed to read it when I was in the proper mood for it. This isn't easy leasure reading. This book required my full attention, I couldn't read while listening to music or with the tv on. I need to focus to pick up all the subtle clues.

I can't wait to reread this book in a couple of years. I have a feeling that I might raise my rating to 4 stars.

Recommended to new and old classics lovers.

I read this book to fill the Gothic square of my 2019 Halloween Bingo Card.

Well, finally, I have managed to read this Wilkie Collins classic, and I’m glad that I did. It is remarkable for the way it got detective fiction started. I could certainly see the roots of the genre in it and it reminded me strongly of Arthur Conan Doyle’s The Sign of Four. Sergeant Cuff, with his eye for detail and absorption in rose cultivation, seems like a clear predecessor of Sherlock Holmes, with his predilection for violin playing and smelly chemistry experiments. Both novels result from treasures stolen from the Indian subcontinent and Indian people appear in England in both cases to retrieve the ill-gotten valuables. Also appreciated was one of the earliest crime scene re-enactments in literature.

The Moonstone doesn’t rush it’s way to the finish line. Instead, it meanders and circles a bit, as the literature of the time period does. I thought that Collins must have had great fun writing the first two narrators--both Gabriel Betteredge and Drusilla Clack are entertaining for their eccentricities. Both have placed their faith in a particular book: Gabriel relies on Robinson Crusoe, while Drusilla trusts more to the Bible, or rather interpretations thereof by her favourite religious people. Each of them regards people who don’t pay attention to their book as heathens. Probably most of us have encountered a Drusilla at some point or may even count them as family members--we hope we see them before they see us, allowing us time to hide or flee!

Collins certainly reveals his excellent understanding of people with his characters. I found his depiction of Godfrey Ablewhite especially interesting, as it related to Collins’ own personal life. Godfrey proposes to Miss Rachel Verinder, but seems to be rather easily made to back away from their engagement, though it makes his father apoplectic. We learn later that he has been keeping a woman in grand style and had he succeeded in marrying Rachel, this woman would have been sure to ruin his reputation! Perhaps this is why Collins maintained two households without ever marrying either woman--they could tolerate being equal, but his marrying one would have automatically made the unmarried woman into the Other Woman, with the concomitant social censure.

Collins certainly set a pattern in literature with valuable gems being the centre pieces of mysterious goings on. I think even of modern urban fantasy such as Burn for Me by Ilona Andrews with it’s pillaged Indian crown, featuring a beautiful stone, which is used for nefarious purposes and is eventually returned to India where it belongs, with the knowledge that nothing good comes from stealing from other cultures.

Uno de los primeros referentes del género policiaco, la novela de Collins aprovecha para reconstruir la historia de un robo a través de una sucesión de testimonios escritos de todas las personas que estuvieron en contacto con la piedra lunar, un diamante único sobre el que pesa una maldición. A pesar de confluir en esta historia muchos elementos atractivos, el autor las conjuga de una forma analítica y bastante aséptica, lo cual ha hecho que tras leerlo, me quede un tanto frío y que el conjunto resulte poco memorable.

RESEÑA COMPLETA: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cqniN...