The Moonstone by Wilkie Collins
The Moonstone, a priceless yellow diamond, is looted from an Indian temple and maliciously bequeathed to Rachel Verinder. On her eighteenth birthday, her friend and suitor Franklin Blake brings the gift to her. That very night, it is stolen again. No one is above suspicion, as the idiosyncratic Sergeant Cuff and the Franklin piece together a puzzling series of events as mystifying as an opium dream and as deceptive as the nearby Shivering Sand.
T. S. Eliot famously described The Moonstone as 'the first, the longest and the best of modern English detective novels', but, as Sandra Kemp discusses in her introduction, it offers many other facets, which reveal Collins's sensibilities as untypical of his era.
His women and servants – like the luckless Rosanna – are treated as individuals capable of anger and passion. He unmasks a restrictive society in his depiction of sexual and imperial domination. Finally through his manipulation of the narrative itself, facts, identities and memory become question marks as the intricate mystery of The Moonstone unfolds.
Format: Paperback | 528 pages
Dimensions (cm): 19.8 x 13 x 2.2 | 378g
Publication Date: 26 Nov 1998
Publisher: Penguin Books
Imprint: Penguin Classics
Publication City/Country: London, United Kingdom
Language: English
ISBN10: 0140434089
ISBN13: 9780140434088
Condition: Good
A vintage book that has been read but is in good condition. Some minor damage to the cover including minor scuff marks and minor creasing along the edges, but no holes or tears. The majority of pages are undamaged with very minimal creasing, but no tearing. No pencil underlining of text, and no highlighting of text. The first page in the book has the name: "Ros" written at the top in blue pen, but no other writing in margins. No missing pages.