Moonstone

The Moonstone (1868) is Wilkie Collins’s second masterpiece, the first being The Woman in White published almost a decade earlier. While both books are often classified as Gothic novels and mystery novels, The Moonstone is also reckoned to be the first detective novel of the English tongue. As long as narration is concerned, Collins makes use of the epistolary style to create even more suspense. The story is about a precious stone brought to Britain by a corrupt English military officer who has served in India. The readers are informed that the stone has a great religious value in India and that some religious zealots are sworn to protect it by all means till the end of days. Before his death, the military veteran ordered the moonstone to be bestowed to his niece Rachel Verinder. The latter organizes a birthday party during which she wears the precious stone not only in front of her English friends and relatives, but also in front of foreign house servants and Indian entertainers. Soon, the stone is reported to be stolen and an investigation starts in search for the thief among the many suspects. After hard efforts made by Rachel’s cousin Franklin Blake and a group of friends to decipher the mystery, the former discovers that the thief is none but himself. Indeed, Blake eventually understands that he has been drugged with opium and has unconsciously stolen the stone. The end of the narrative witnesses the transfer of the moonstone back to its native land.