The Moonstone by Wilkie CollinsMy rating: 4 of 5 stars
This early crime/detective novel was not so much about who was the murderer, at least not to me. I have wanted to read this book for many years and finally got round to it, finding it much more about the peculiarities of the many characters. Wilkie Collins has several narrators of the story, all with their own viewpoint of course. But what I found so fascinating was how much the author steered me in different directions, all the time wanting to know more about the narrator – rather than who did the crime! They each seemed to have a strange personality, one of whom had me chuckling most of the time because of her faith and devotion to Christianity. (No spoiler here!) Most surprising was how freely laudanum, i.e. opium, was used by the greater and lower members of this Victorian society. Comparing things with contemporary society and how smoking tobacco has become such a ‘No! No!’ for various reasons, one of the main characters is criticised for trying to give up cigars!
I enjoyed this book much more than I’d expected when I started reading it. Great read – recommended.
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