The Moonstone, by Wilkie Collins, is a gem of a 19th c novel :). The various voices called upon to tell the tale make it a brilliant example of Collins' skill at characterization. Each voice is unique, authentic, and compelling. Like a relay race of perspectives, the details of the Moonstone's disappearance are revealed at the same time as the characters reveal aspects of themselves. Wonderful device! From the genial, conversational tone of Betteredge to the measured, business-like approach of Mr. Bruff, each section of the tale is as interesting for what we learn about the teller as it is for what we learn about the tale.
And the absence of Dickensian moralizing was hardly objectionable (evidently the good friendship shared by Dickens and Collins did not occasion that kind of emulation, thank goodness). Entertaining, for certain, but there's more here for the picking than mere entertainment. An examination of the various levels and conventions of Victorian society (Collins seems to lean towards blowing off more conventions than seeing the need to keep them . . . if the general actions of his more sympathetic characters are any measure of his own opinions), hypocrisy and the toll it takes on the well-meaning among us (or all of us, for that matter), and the notions of love and honour are all explored in this suspense novel. It feels just as relevant now as it must have then.
Once the Moonstone (that cursed gem stolen from India) disappears, lives suffer, reputations are damaged, and minds are more than unsettled. How Mr. Franklin Blake solves the problem (with the help of Betteredge, Sergeant Cuff, the horrible Drusilla Clack, among others) is fascinating. There are moments that are rather far-fetched, but Collins does such a great job at creating character motivation that one has a tendency to overlook the small gaps.
Loved this book! Must read more Collins when I get the chance.
3 scribble(s) in the margin:
It is magic to find a book that feels as relevant now as it did when it was written. I hope that is how my book will feel in years to come. I can dream right...
I read The Woman in White in 2009. It was my first Wilkie Collins and certainly not my last. What a fun writer.
Tabitha: I suspect every writer shares that dream. :) Who was it said that to be universal a writer must be personal? Can't remember, but maybe it applies to relevance, as well?
Thomas: Woman in White was my first Collins as well and, for some reason, there has been a big Collins gap from when I read it in university til now . . .with The Moonstone. Don't know what I was thinking to let so much Collinsless time lapse! He's too much fun to leave on the shelf. :)
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