The Moonstone |
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Author:
Wilkie Collins
By Signet Classics
Average Customer Rating:  
List Price: $6.95
Our Price: $3.32
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Product Description
"The first, the longest, and the best of modern English detective novels" (T.S. Eliot), The Moonstone is a fascinating excursion into the sinister shadows that lie just beyond the ordered landscape of Victorian-era English society.
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 Ne'er a bore, 2007-07-09
After a military fracas breaks out in colonial India, a mysterious (and supposedly cursed) Hindu diamond--the largest in the world--finds its way back to London. After the death of its owner, the Moonstone is only reluctantly passed on to the niece of the deceased: one Rachel Verinder. Less than a day after she receives the gem, it suddenly goes missing.
Collins' use of prose is marvelous, and his style of incorporating suspense at every turn influenced the writings of his dear friend, Charles Dickens. The story was originally serialized, partly during a period of intense physical and emotional pain for the author. There are glimmers of this, in the narratives of both Miss Clack and Ezra Jennings, two of the more entertaining and riveting (respectively) segments of the novel.
The story is only barred from a full five stars due to the mild loss of empathy/sympathy for two of the characters by mid-story, and the lack of pungency in the narratives of Franklin Blake, a critical section. That said, the story keeps you engaged from the very beginning, and it will be difficult to put the book down until you find out that thief was in fact...my apologies; let me excuse myself, before I go too far.
Magnificent, 2005-12-15
"The Moonstone" is a masterpiece. Originally published serially in Charles Dickens' monthly journal "All the Year Round," it is widely regarded as the first of its genre: the detective story. While a contemporary of Dickens, Collins' writing style is more accessible, in my opinion, to the general reader. In fact, its initial publication in "All the Year Round" outsold Dickens' own "Tale of Two Cities" and "Great Expectations."
Collins' characters are unforgettable, especially the tragic Ezra Jennings, the silly, hypocritical Miss Clack, and the sad Rosanna Spearman.
Throughout the book, the hint of things occultish makes this very unlike most other novels of the period and hightens the feeling of danger and mystery.
This book is entirely delightful. Don't miss an oppotunity to discover "The Moonstone."
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Binding: Paperback
Dewey Decimal Number: 823.8
EAN: 9780451528292
ISBN: 0451528298
Label: Signet Classics
Manufacturer: Signet Classics
Number Of Items: 1
Number Of Pages: 512
Publication Date: 2002-03-01
Publisher: Signet Classics
Studio: Signet Classics |
