"Nothing human is perfect, but The Moonstone comes about as near perfection as anything of its kind can be." ~~Dorothy Sayers
Wilkie Collins, a friend of Charles Dickens, has been called The Master of Sensation. He was a brilliant and witty writer, and once again I have nothing but rave reviews for his work. Despite the fantastic nature of The Moonstone's mystery, reputed to be the first English detective novel ever written, the plot is masterfully woven together with subtlety and understatement rather than overt, in-your-face suspense. The dry, wry humor (or humour, rather) of the British variety made me laugh out loud several times.
As in The Woman in White, alternating narrators tell the story. Their individual and sometimes mistaken suspicions about the events and characters involved influence the reader's perceptions about what has happened and where the story is leading. Everything we learn about Miss Rachel Verinder, a key character who is given the Moonstone for her birthday the night it disappears, is through the eyes of the narrators, and each has a different impression of her. The reader must wonder when presented with contradictory information whose interpretation is correct, which, along with a few red herrings, adds to the mystery.
Like the characters involved in the plot to discover what happened to the gem, I also caught "detective fever" as I tried to sort out the details and revelations and make my own interpretations based on the actions of the characters rather than on what they said about each other. And what intriguing characters they are: Gabriel Betteredge, the house steward who, when faced with a challenge, lights his pipe and consults Robinson Crusoe as if it were a book of divination; Franklin Blake, a well-traveled gentleman vying for Rachel's affection; Godfrey Ablewhite, a respected philanthropist and fellow suitor for Rachel; Sergeant Cuff, a renowned detective with a penchant for rose bushes; Miss Drusilla Clack, a devoutly moral woman who throws religious tracts at cab drivers, finds cap-ribbons deplorable, and surreptitiously distributes Christian literature to unsuspecting people who, in her estimation, wrongly suppose that they're already Christians; and others we meet along the way. Add to the mix such things as a reformed thief, a swarthy and piebald medical assistant with a past, a bursting buzzard, shivering sands, and a mysterious trio of traveling performers, and you have an amusing and exciting story that draws you in and keeps you guessing.
Wilkie Collins, a friend of Charles Dickens, has been called The Master of Sensation. He was a brilliant and witty writer, and once again I have nothing but rave reviews for his work. Despite the fantastic nature of The Moonstone's mystery, reputed to be the first English detective novel ever written, the plot is masterfully woven together with subtlety and understatement rather than overt, in-your-face suspense. The dry, wry humor (or humour, rather) of the British variety made me laugh out loud several times.
As in The Woman in White, alternating narrators tell the story. Their individual and sometimes mistaken suspicions about the events and characters involved influence the reader's perceptions about what has happened and where the story is leading. Everything we learn about Miss Rachel Verinder, a key character who is given the Moonstone for her birthday the night it disappears, is through the eyes of the narrators, and each has a different impression of her. The reader must wonder when presented with contradictory information whose interpretation is correct, which, along with a few red herrings, adds to the mystery.
Like the characters involved in the plot to discover what happened to the gem, I also caught "detective fever" as I tried to sort out the details and revelations and make my own interpretations based on the actions of the characters rather than on what they said about each other. And what intriguing characters they are: Gabriel Betteredge, the house steward who, when faced with a challenge, lights his pipe and consults Robinson Crusoe as if it were a book of divination; Franklin Blake, a well-traveled gentleman vying for Rachel's affection; Godfrey Ablewhite, a respected philanthropist and fellow suitor for Rachel; Sergeant Cuff, a renowned detective with a penchant for rose bushes; Miss Drusilla Clack, a devoutly moral woman who throws religious tracts at cab drivers, finds cap-ribbons deplorable, and surreptitiously distributes Christian literature to unsuspecting people who, in her estimation, wrongly suppose that they're already Christians; and others we meet along the way. Add to the mix such things as a reformed thief, a swarthy and piebald medical assistant with a past, a bursting buzzard, shivering sands, and a mysterious trio of traveling performers, and you have an amusing and exciting story that draws you in and keeps you guessing.
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