SparkNotes: The Moonstone: Character List Character List Plot Overview Analysis of Major Characters Rachel Verinder - Rachel Verinder, only daughter to Lady Verinder, receives the Moonstone on her eighteenth birthday, only to have it stolen that night. Rachel is a straightforward and impassioned heroine. She is in love with Franklin Blake. Read an in-depth analysis of Rachel Verinder. Lady Verinder - Lady Verinder is an honest and just mistress to her household in Yorkshire. She suffers from heart disease and dies a third of the way through the novel Franklin Blake - Franklin Blake, Lady Verinder's nephew, is the editorial force behind the collected narratives of the novel—he has asked everyone to write what they know about the disappearance of the diamond, in the interests of clearing his own name. Franklin is good-natured and somewhat indecisive, perhaps because of his training in various foreign countries. Franklin is in love with Rachel Verinder. Read an in-depth analysis of Franklin Blake. Godfrey Ablewhite - Godfrey Ablewhite is a renowned philanthropist and leader of several Ladies' Charity Groups in London. He is a cousin of Rachel Verinder's and proposes marriage to Rachel twice.

Godfrey begins to look suspicious and hypocritical during Miss Clack's narrative. Read an in-depth analysis of Godfrey Ablewhite. Gabriel Betteredge - Gabriel Betteredge is the trusted house steward of Lady Verinder. He has been in service to the Lady and her family his entire life and feels a strong attachment to the family and household servants. Betteredge has a provincial, earthy sense of humor. He enjoys the novelty of both detective work and the writing of a narrative. Ezra Jennings - Ezra Jennings is the assistant to Mr. Candy. Jennings has a strange appearance—he is tall and thin, with a face wrinkled beyond his years and hair that is half white and half black—that causes him to be shunned from social interaction. Jennings is intelligent and science-minded. He seems to harbor secrets from his past and is capable of womanly depths of feeling for others. Read an in-depth analysis of Ezra Jennings. Sergeant Cuff - Sergeant Cuff is a renowned detective from London. Tall and gaunt, he does not look like a member of the police force, yet his perceptive intelligence is striking. Cuff is idiosyncractic—his favorite pastime when not working is to breed roses.

Cuff also exhibits a quiet sympathy for some others. Miss Drusilla Clack - Miss Clack, niece to Lady Verinder, is an overly-pious and falsely humble Christian—a member of many of Godfrey Ablewhite's Ladies' charities. Miss Clack's main interest is in the evilness of others, whom she attempts to save with the Christian pamphlets she carries with her. Miss Clack is capable of real venom toward those she doesn't like, such as Rachel Verinder. She holds strictly traditional views on gender roles, yet would and does swoon in the presence of her "Christian Hero," Godfrey Ablewhite. Mr. Mathew Bruff - Mr. Bruff has long been the family lawyer to the Verinders—he holds Rachel Verinder, Lady Verinder, and Franklin Blake all in high esteem. Mr. Bruff has a lawyer's mind for thinking logically through the facts of the case. He is resistant to any imaginative or mystical thinking. He respects the Indians for their efficiency and tenacity. Mr. Candy - Mr. Candy is the local doctor to Lady Verinder. He has a boyish sense of humor and a lively pride in his profession. Mr.

Candy falls ill the night of Rachel's birthday from exposure to the rain and is incoherent or forgetful forever after. Superintendent Seegrave - Seegrave is the overconfident but not-too-meticulous local police superintendent in Frizinghall, the nearest town to Lady Verinder's estate. Seegrave's methods of detection are unperceptive and unsurprising—he suspects the servants first and bullies them into cooperation with the case. Colonel John Herncastle - John Herncastle, we learn in the preface, fought for the English army in India and stole the Moonstone diamond while he was there in 1799. A reclusive and dishonorable man, he eventually leaves the diamond to his niece, Rachel, in what is probably a malicious attempt to infect Lady Verinder with its ill luck. Mr. Murthwaite - Mr. Murthwaite is a famous traveler to India—he is fluent in languages spoken there and his thin, tanned appearance allows him to pass for a native. Murthwaite has a good understanding and a healthy respect for the Indians in pursuit of the diamond. His position is that of a metaphorical spy—entering into Indian culture and secretly reporting back to the English.

Penelope - Penelope was raised with Rachel in Lady Verinder's household and now acts as Rachel's maid. Her loyalty to the Verinders, and to Rachel specifically, is a great as that of her father, Gabriel Betteredge. Penelope is clever and does not hesitate to speak her mind. Rosanna Spearman - Rosanna Spearman is a housemaid to Lady Verinder. Rosanna was a thief before repenting and entering the Reformatory from which Lady Verinder hired her. Rosanna is ashamed of her past and keeps to herself in the household. She is grateful for the kindnesses of Lady Verinder, Gabriel Betteredge, and Penelope. Rosanna is a tragic figure, much like Ezra Jennings. Limping Lucy Yolland - Lucy Yolland is a close friend of Rosanna's. She is loyal and quick to be indignant on Rosanna's behalf, even toward upper-class men such as Franklin Blake. Septimus Luker - Septimus Luker is a seedy London moneylender. Mrs. Merridew - Mrs. Merridew is Rachel's conservative aunt. Samuel - Samuel is the footman to Lady Verinder. Mr.

Ablewhite - Godfrey Ablewhite's father is a self-made man who married into money. He is a caretaker for Rachel after her mother's death. Mrs. Ablewhite - Mrs. Ablewhite, Godfrey Ablewhite's mother, is a lazy, but happy person. Rachel enjoys visiting with her. the Miss Ablewhites - Godfrey Ablewhite's two sisters are rambunctious and happy. They are referred to as "the Bouncers" by Gabriel Betteredge. Gooseberry - Gooseberry's real name is Octavius Guy. He is called Gooseberry because of his large, rolling eyes that protrude from his head. Gooseberry is a young boy in Mr. Bruff's employ—he keeps his eyes open for Mr. Bruff and follows people when necessary. He is sneaky, quick, and smart. More Help The Moonstone | Austin Public Library | BiblioCommons Print The Moonstone is a stunning yellow diamond the size of a bird's egg that glows like the harvest moon and harbors a flaw in its brilliant depths.

Inherited by the beautiful young Englishwoman Rachel Verinder, it is also a sacred talisman to the Hindu priests who hope to bring it back to their holy city in India, from which it was looted long ago. The diamond's disappearance sets in motion an intricately plotted mystery. Wilkie Collins gives the reader all the necessary pieces to the puzzle, but they are so cleverly disguised that his surprise ending takes the breath away. The elements that make up The Moonstone-- a purloined jewel that carries a mysterious curse, an indefatigable British police sergeant, a drama of theft and murder in a spacious country house--have been repeated, in varying guises, throughout much of the avalanche of detective fiction that followed Collins's immensely popular 1868 novel. But none of those books has surpassed the richness and suspense of the storytelling of The Moonstone , the first detective novel and the continuing standard of its genre. Introduction by Catherine Peters The Moonstone 1868 second edition of The Moonstone Published in 1868, one of the two books (with The Woman in White ) for which Collins is most famous. The Moonstone was described by T. S.

Eliot as 'the first and greatest of English detective novels' although priority is now usually given to The Notting Hill Mystery. The Moonstone has several archetypal features of modern detective fiction and created many of the ground rules for the genre. Several incidents in the story are taken from the real life Constance Kent Road Case and the plot is Collins at his intricate best. Elwin quotes a contemporary critic that 'not a window is opened, a door shut, or a nose blown, but, depend upon it, the act will have something to do with the end of the book.' Geraldine Jewsbury didn't care for the 'sordid detective element' but admired the 'wonderful construction of the story' and 'the skill with which the secret is kept to the last.' The Moonstone was immensely successful as a serial in All the Year Round and Dickens originally liked the story.

At a low point in his relationship with Collins, however, he wrote to Wills 'The construction is wearisome beyond endurance, and there is a vein of obstinate conceit in it that makes enemies of readers.' Sergeant Cuff, the rose growing detective, from the 1875 Chatto & Windus edition In addition to its success as a detective story, The Moonstone is notable for its enlightened social attitudes. Collins's respectful handling of the Indians and the religious motivation of their quest for the Moonstone is in marked contrast to the hatred and contempt exhibited by most English writers (including Dickens) for 'lesser breeds' after the Indian Mutiny. Collins is also ahead of his time in his sympathetic and serious characterisation of the reformed thief and servant Rosanna Spearman. Much of The Moonstone was written while Collins was taking large quantities of opium to alleviate the agonies of gout. His own experiences of the drug are portrayed in the character of Ezra Jennings, the incurably ill addict who suffers relief from pain at the expense of hideous nightmares. Like The Woman in White, The Moonstone is told in the form of multiple narratives.

The chief exponent is the House-steward, Gabriel Betteredge, who confirms 'I am forbidden to tell more in this narrative than I knew myself at the time. Or, to put it plainer, I am to keep strictly within the limits of my own experience.' First one volume edition by Smith, Elder in 1871 PLOT SUMMARY The Moonstone is a magnificent yellow diamond 'large as a plover's egg'. It was looted at the siege of Seringapatam in southern India in 1799 by Colonel John Herncastle, who seized it from the forehead of a Hindu god. On his return to England he was ostracised by his family and society, and in revenge for a slight he leaves the diamond, said to carry a curse, to his niece Rachel Verinder. Rachel's cousin, Franklin Blake, is to deliver the diamond to the Verinder house near Frizinghall on the Yorkshire coast. The Moonstone is presented to Rachel at a dinner party for her eighteenth birthday. The guests include Godfrey *Ablewhite, another cousin; Mr Candy, the family doctor; Mr Murthwaite, a celebrated traveller in India; and Drusilla Clack, an interfering evangelist.

The party goes badly. Rachel and Franklin Blake have become fond of each other while decorating her sitting room door and Rachel had earlier refused a marriage proposal from Ablewhite. In addition, Blake quarrels with Mr Candy about the competence of doctors. Blake had been followed in London and Murthwaite identifies three Indians seen near the house as high caste Brahmins. Rachel places the diamond in her bedroom cabinet but the next morning it is missing. The local police superintendent, Seegrave, is a bungling incompetent so Blake calls in the celebrated Sergeant Cuff of the detective police. He rules out the suspicious Indians but realises the importance of smeared paint on Rachel's sitting room door. The smear has been made by an article of dress, whose owner is almost certainly the thief. Rachel behaves inexplicably, obstructing the investigation and refusing to have anything more to do with Franklin Blake. Cuff concludes that she has stolen her own diamond assisted by Rosanna Spearman, a deformed housemaid fascinated by the local quicksand. Rosanna is a reformed thief who is acquainted with a dubious London moneylender, Septimus Luker. She is also in love with Franklin Blake and after acting strangely drowns herself in the Shivering Sand.

Cuff is dismissed from the case by Lady Verinder but correctly predicts future developments. In London, both Ablewhite and Luker are attacked and searched, Luker losing a receipt for a great valuable. Lady Verinder dies of a heart condition and Rachel reluctantly agrees to marry Ablewhite whose father has become her guardian. They move to Brighton where they are visited by Mr Bruff, the family solicitor. The engagement is broken off when he reveals that Ablewhite is in debt and is marrying Rachel for her money. Blake returns from travels abroad but Rachel refuses to see him. Determined to restore her good opinion, he revisits Yorkshire where Rosanna Spearman's only friend, Limping Lucy, gives him a letter from the dead housemaid. This leads him to the Shivering Sand where Rosanna has hidden his nightgown, smeared with paint, with a confession that she concealed the nightgown and killed herself out of love. The confused Blake returns to London and contrives a meeting with Rachel at Mr Bruff's house in Hampstead. There she tells him that she knows he had financial problems and with her own eyes saw him take the diamond. Her own actions have been to protect his reputation.

Blake meets Mr Candy's assistant, Ezra Jennings, who saved Candy's life from a fever caught after the birthday dinner. Jennings had recorded Candy's delirium which revealed that Candy had secretly given Blake opium to prove his point in their argument. Blake therefore unknowingly 'stole' the diamond under the influence of the drug, in order to keep it safe. Jennings explains to Blake that if he takes opium again under similar conditions he may repeat his actions of the previous year and reveal where he placed the diamond. Blake agrees and the experiment is conducted with Mr Bruff as an observer. Blake takes a substitute gem but fails to reveal the Moonstone's hiding place. Rachel, really in love with him, is also present and has already forgiven him. Bruff in the meantime has Luker's bank watched. The moneylender is observed passing the diamond to a sailor who is followed to a dockside inn. Later the same night he is murdered. Cuff, brought out of retirement by Blake, discovers that the sailor is Godfrey Ablewhite in disguise. He was the real thief and stole the gem to save himself from financial ruin. He has been killed by the Indians who have now recovered the diamond.

In a religious ceremony witnessed in India by Murthwaite, the Brahmins return the diamond to the god of the moon. 1868 first US edition by Harper's 1882 Lovell's Library edition in paper wrappers PUBLISHING HISTORY Serialisation All the Year Round, 4 January--8 August 1868; and in Harper's Weekly, 4 January - 8 August 1868. Book publication First edition 3 volumes, Tinsley Brothers, 1868. Violet cloth, covers blocked in blind, spines lettered in gilt, cream end-papers. Half-title in each volume. Published in July 1868 in an edition of 1,500 copies. Vol I viii + 316 pp Vol II (vi) + 298 pp. Single leaf of publishers' advertisements usually inserted before half-title, but sometimes forms pp [299-300]. Vol III (iv) + 312 pp. Publishers' advertisements occupy pp [311-312] but sometimes inserted before half-title.

A second edition of 500 copies in 3 volumes was published from the same type. It is distinguished from the first by 'second edition' on the title-page and spine which has 'Tinsley Brothers' in italic. Both editions contain the misprint 'treachesrously' on p 129 of volume II. 1 volume editions Smith Elder 1871 (revised text with new preface); Chatto & Windus 1875-1907 (with 9 illustrations by George du Maurier and F. A. Fraser). Critical editions World's Classics 1928 (introduced by T. S. Eliot); Everyman Library 1944 (introduced by D. L. Sayers); Penguin 1966 (edited by J. I. M. Stewart); Pan 1967 (introduced by A. Burgess); World's Classics 1982 (edited by A. Trodd); Everyman Library 1992 (introduction by C. Peters), Broadview Press 1999 (edited by S. Farmer).

Harper's: New York, 1868; reissued till 1900. Translations German (by Emil Lehmann), Berlin 1868; Russian, Moscow 1868; Italian, Milan 1870; French, Paris 1872; Irish Language, Dublin 1933. French translation published by Hachette Rachel Verinder | Critique City Posted on August 31, 2015 by redcynic The Moonstone by Wilkie Collins This novel is often praised as one of the greatest detective stories of all literature. While I’m undecided as to whether I agree with that statement based on the novel as a whole, there were moments when I was surprised, which, when reading or watching a mystery, is what a reader longs for. It seems that many mystery plots are easily solved by the reader/watcher long before the solution is revealed (think Agatha Christie or Scooby Do). The Moonstone was not easily solvable, and therefore it does receive extra brownie points from this reader.

The Story This 457-page novel (that number excludes the introduction and epilogue, which were not written by Collins) is told by eleven different contributors, broken up into narratives and statements. This unique aspect of The Moonstone balances the novel, as the story has many characters and points of view. However, this approach led to many asides and accounts that are not crucial to the story – I will leave out as much of that chaff as possible to keep the story on track without detracting from the novel’s integrity. We start out with a letter from an unidentified member of the family sharing the story of when the large yellow gem referred to as The Moonstone was taken from its rightful place in the forehead of the Indian moon god by family member John Herncastle. A supposed spell on the stone has caused those who take it and their families to be forever cursed. John returns to England and eventually dies, bequeathing the gem to his niece, the daughter of his sister (Lady Verinder) who he was never on good terms with. It is speculated that he left the stone to his niece out of malice for his sister. Then, the novel begins with us being led by Lady Verinder’s head servant, Gabriel Betterdge.

He relates the arrival of the moonstone to Miss Rachel Verinder on her 18th birthday by Mr. Franklin Blake, and its loss. Blake makes a trip to the Verinder’s, having been entrusted to deliver the diamond; but, being afraid it will be stolen, he keeps it in the bank until the birthday party. He tells Betteredge of the diamond’s curse, and his reluctance to give it to Rachel, but eventually decides he cannot keep what is lawfully hers from her, curse or no. On a few accounts, Blake notices he is being followed by three Indian men, who pretend to be jugglers in the presence of the Verinders, but are just sniffing for the diamond. Since the birthday party is a few weeks away still, Blake hangs around with Rachel, teaching her to paint, and falling in love with her. Meanwhile, a servant girl with a rough past as a thief (she even did some jail time) falls instantly in love with Mr. Blake, but is unable to even talk to him or make her love known, since she is a plain girl with a disfigured shoulder and knows she doesn’t deserve him.

Also appearing to be in love is Godfrey Ablewhite, Rachel’s cousin who comes to stay for a few days in honor of Rachel’s birthday. He proposes to her but she declines. On the night of the birthday party, Blake gives Rachel her prized possession, which she proudly wears in the bosom of her dress. All the guests notice it, specifically Mr. Murthwaite, a widely-traveled man who particularly likes India. Blake spends the evening sparring with Mr. Candy, a doctor, about the effectiveness of medicine, saying that medicine is a bunch of crap. In the morning, the diamond is gone from Rachel’s night stand, where she had placed it. Rachel is very upset, especially with Blake, who has no idea why. Renowned Sergeant Cuff is brought in, but the only clue that they find is some smeared paint on Rachel’s doorway, where Blake was teaching her to paint. Rachel will not consent to having her clothes searched for the paint smear. Cuff suspects that Rachel stole her own diamond, which everyone denies, having known Rachel to be a sweet though strong-headed girl.

Rachel skips town to go live in the city, soon followed by her mother who strongly disagrees with Cuff’s analysis of the crime, and believes she can get the truth out of her daughter. Meanwhile, Rosanna has been sneaking around trying to cover up nobody-knows-what, and is eventually presumed to have killed herself in the Shivering Sand, a patch of quicksand near the ocean. She left a letter with a friend to give to Blake, who retrieves it months later after learning about it from Betteredge. It professes her love for him, and tells him of a secret hiding spot. He retrieves a tin from the spot in the ocean, which contains his nightgown, complete with the missing pain smear. She had found it in his room, her love for him causing her to hide it for him, but his dismissive nature toward her causing her to kill herself. Blake is stunned, since he doesn’t remember stealing the diamond. Betteredge also cannot believe it. Blake goes to see Rachel, who says she saw him take the diamond with her own eyes. He cannot believe her. They soon find out that Mr.

Candy, the doctor who Blake disagreed with about medicine, administered some opium into Blake’s nightcap via Ablewhite. Mr. Candy’s assistant, Ezra Jennings, suggest they perform a test on Blake to see if he will perform similarly under opium again. They recreate the birthday party atmosphere and Blake’s inability to sleep (quitting smoking) and find that the opium causes Blake to “sleepwalk” into Rachel’s room and take the test diamond once again. Where the diamond is now, though, cannot be determined. All the pawnbrokers in London are monitored, and they find that a Mr. Luker has deposited a large gem into the bank. They cannot determine that it’s the moonstone, but Mr. Luker (and Godfrey Ablewhite) was attacked by the three Indians, so they presume on. One year from the date the large diamond was put into the bank, they follow Mr. Luker to the bank, and see the diamond pass into another man’s hands. They follow that man, eventually finding him smothered to death in a hotel room. The jewelry box he had carried is empty. They notice a thin white line around the dead man’s hairline – a mask.

They remove it and find the thief – Godfrey Ablewhite! (The fact that Ablewhite was also attacked by the Indians should have been a clue, but Collins slyly dismisses this fact and keeps the reader off the right track). On the night that Blake stole the diamond, he gave it to Ablewhite to put back in the bank, subsequently falling asleep and forgetting his entire opium saga. Ablewhite, being a two-faced man who looked good in society but carried on a secret lavish life of debauchery, had many debts. He first of all wanted to marry Rachel for her family’s money, but settled for the diamond. He used it as collateral to get a loan from Mr. Luker. He then planned to cut up the diamond and sell the pieces. Unfortunately, the Indians crept into his room, killing him and high tailing it back to India. The novel ends with an account by Mr. Murthwaite, the Indian aficionado from Rachel’s party. He witnesses the diamond being restored to its place in the moon god’s forehead, but insinuating that it will be stolen and restored many times over in the future.

The Style The most interesting stylistic technique, I find, is that of multiple narrators. Each account is written as a letter in first person, and each person is tasked with telling a specific part, or their personal account, of the story. This tactic gives the reader the feeling of being the detective – hearing personal accounts, just as if they were interrogating each witness or player themselves. Each character has their own opinions and thoughts in their written accounts, such as Franklin Blake’s dislike of Miss Clack (a very religious, pretentious woman who contributes a short narrative toward the beginning of the novel), and Betteredge’s idea that Robinson Crusoe has the answer to every question. While the idea of having 11 different narrators may seem confusing or daunting, Collins followed through nicely, keeping each account organized and seamless with the subsequent and preceding account. The writing style itself is nothing special, though there’s certainly no call for elaborate techniques. Collins uses straightforward language and sentence structure, which is necessary for an elaborate story such as this. Never did the story get convoluted or confusing, and I believe much of this has to do with the easy, simple writing Collins exhibited here.

Collins also utilizes dialogue fluidly, and develops his characters well (even though some are annoying or repetitive (*cough Gabriel Betteredge cough*) Collins does create some intrigue and suspense by having his characters drops little hints about what will happen next (Betteredge suggests several times that Rosanna’s fate is not a pretty one). The story kept me turning pages, even though it wasn’t a thriller by any means. The Verdict I wouldn’t call this book the greatest suspense novel of all time. The only way I could justify that statement would be to read every mystery ever written, and all the time in all my days couldn’t allow me to complete this feat. I can say that I did enjoy the novel and I was surprised at the result. When you’re reading a mystery, that’s all one can really ask for. Everything else is a bonus.

The 100 best novels: No 19 – The Moonstone by Wilkie Collins (1868) | Books | The Guardian The 100 best novels The 100 best novels: No 19 – The Moonstone by Wilkie Collins (1868) Wilkie Collins's masterpiece, hailed by many as the greatest English detective novel, is a brilliant marriage of the sensational and the realistic The 100 best novels The 100 best novels: No 19 – The Moonstone by Wilkie Collins (1868) Wilkie Collins's masterpiece, hailed by many as the greatest English detective novel, is a brilliant marriage of the sensational and the realistic Share on Messenger Close The Moonstone is often said to be the godfather of the classic English detective story, its founding text. TS Eliot, claiming that the genre was "invented by Collins and not by Poe", declared it to be "the first, the longest and the best of modern English detective novels". Dorothy L Sayers , a queen of crime in the 1930s and 40s, echoing Eliot, pronounced it "probably the finest detective story ever written".

Its influence continues to animate the work of crime writers such as PD James . Certainly, Collins adheres faithfully to the rules of detective fiction: a mysterious and compelling crime takes place in an English country house; a large cast of potential suspects is assembled, each with plenty of motive, means and opportunity; an incompetent constabulary is replaced by a celebrated sleuth/ investigator who, after a "reconstruction" of key elements in the crime, comes up with a satisfying explanation of the puzzle, based on a brilliant analysis of the clues. Finally, there's a denouement replete with surprise, excitement and a plausible solution. The Moonstone has this, and more, all of it brilliantly executed. The original crime in The Moonstone, the theft of the Tippoo diamond after the fall of Seringapatam, is Collins's masterstroke. It connects every detail of the plot to the great imperial drama of India, the society over which Queen Victoria would eventually declare herself "Empress". The Indian factor imbues the tale with the sinister mystery of the east. Mid-century, this "moonstone" is given to a young Englishwoman, Rachel Verinder, on her 18th birthday and then mysteriously disappears.

A quest ensues in which, after murder and marriage, the Moonstone is restored to its Indian source. However, although this is classic detective fiction, its greatness really lies in its qualities as a novel. Collins signalled his ambitions for the book in the preface to the first edition, in which he wrote: "In some of my former novels, the object proposed has been to trace the influence of circumstances upon character. In the present story I have reversed the process." So it's the enthralling interplay of character (Rachel Verinder, the hunchbacked servant girl Rosanna Spearman, Sergeant Cuff, the great detective, and compelling Franklin Blake, Rachel Verinder's cousin) that will hook the interest of most readers. Rosanna's tragic obsession with the adventurer Franklin Blake is among the most poignant renderings of thwarted love in Victorian literature. The fascinating and eccentric figure of Cuff (based on Scotland Yard's real life Inspector Whicher) introduces a figure central to the unravelling of the mystery on whom most readers come to dote. A second, crucial element to the success and longevity of The Moonstone is less about detection than storytelling. This is Collins's virtuoso exploitation of the narrative viewpoint.

In this series, we have already seen the power of epistolary fiction ( Clarissa , No 4; and Frankenstein , No 8). Collins first uses garrulous Gabriel Betteredge, then meddlesome Miss Clack, then the solicitor Matthew Bruff, and then the opium addict Ezra Jennings (drawing on his own opium habit). The narrative dividend for Collins is that he can use these different voices to vary the tone and tempo of a complicated (but not impossibly so) plot. The upshot is his masterpiece, a brilliant marriage of the sensational and the realistic. In short, a classic. A note on the text The Moonstone was originally serialised by Charles Dickens, a close friend of Wilkie Collins , in his magazine All the Year Round between 4 January and 8 August 1868. It was published in three hardback volumes on 16 July 1868 by Tinsley Brothers of Catherine Street, in Covent Garden. A second, revised edition was issued in 1871. In 1877, Collins adapted the novel for the stage, a production that ran for about two months.

Subsequently, there have been many film, radio and television adaptations. In 1934, The Moonstone was made into a critically acclaimed American film. In 1959, the BBC made the novel into a TV serial; in 1972, it was remade for Britain and the United States. In 1996, it was remade again, also in the United Kingdom, for television by the BBC, starring Greg Wise as Franklin Blake and Keeley Hawes as Rachel Verinder. It continues to earn its reputation as the founding text of the classic English detective story. SparkNotes: The Moonstone: Themes, Motifs, and Symbols Themes, Motifs, and Symbols Prologue; First Period, Chapters I–III Themes Subjective Experience versus Objective Knowledge The competition between these two forces—subjective experience and objective knowledge—characterize the conflict experienced by the two main characters of The Moonstone, Rachel Verinder and Franklin Blake. If we take the dichotomy between subjectivity and objectivity to mean something like feeling versus fact, we can begin to see Rachel Verinder's dilemma as the conflict between the evidence of her senses that Franklin Blake stole her diamond and her overwhelming love for Franklin.

Franklin's dilemma is similar—he must reconcile the objective evidence that he stole Rachel's diamond with his subjective impression that he would not have done any such thing. These two dilemmas are paradoxically gestured to the concern, stemming supposedly from his European education, that Franklin has with the "Subjective- Objective" and "Objective-Subjective" viewpoints throughout the novel. If we take the subjective/objective dichotomy to refer also to the interaction between character (subjective) and circumstance (objective), Collins himself explicitly stated his interest in this interaction in the original preface to The Moonstone. Here Collins proclaims his "attempt made, here, to trace the influence of character on circumstances. The conduct pursued, under a sudden emergency, by a young girl, supplies the foundation on which I have built this book." Thus we see that objectivity and subjectivity do not have to be in competition—the novel is also interested in the effect of each upon the other, as when Rachel's subjectivity—specifically her characteristic unwillingness to tell on another—enables the plot of The Moonstone by continuing to hide the thief's identity. The effect of subjectivity on objective fact is also traced in each of The Moonstone's narratives.

Each character reports events and facts surrounding the disappearance of the diamond, yet more often than not, the report of these facts is affected by his or her personal perceptions and opinions. The Nobility of Self-Sacrifice The theme of self-sacrifice first arises in relation to the Indians in pursuit of the diamond. The Indians, guardians of the diamond, were born high-caste Brahmins in India. In order to track the diamond under-cover, they have disguised themselves as low-caste Indians and have thus violated their caste and, by extension, sacrificed their place in the next world. It is Murthwaite who points this out to the English, and it becomes a reason to respect the Indians and the urgency of their quest to pursue the diamond. The novel ends with the ceremony that features not only the replacement of the diamond in India, but the dramatization of the sacrifices made by the three Indians and the further cleansing and penance they must continue to undergo. The willingness of members of the Hindu society to sacrifice themselves for the spiritual good of the whole is presented as a source of strength for India. The English counterpart to this noble self-sacrifice is Rachel Verinder, who sacrifices her public reputation by keeping the secret of Franklin's guilt from everyone.

While the Indians have made their sacrifice in the name of spirituality, Rachel's sacrifice is made in the name of love. It is this conventional love of Rachel for Franklin (the basis of the marriage plot of the novel) that is presented as English society's competing source of strength. The Disparity Between Different Systems of Value When the diamond is given to Rachel Verinder by Franklin and she shows it to the company assembled in Chapter IX of the First Period, everyone is entranced by its strange beauty bbut Godfrey Ablewhite, who says to Betteredge, "Carbon, Betteredge! mere carbon, my good friend, after all!" Not coincidentally, it is Godfrey who sees the diamond, and later uses it, for its cash-value as a commodity, while others view the diamond for its non-market value. The Moonstone's entrance into various systems of value traces its trajectory through the novel. When the diamond is part of the Indian Moon god idol, it is spiritually valuable.

When stolen by John Herncastle and willed to his niece, the diamond becomes valuable as an exotic heirloom—in other words, it is so valuable that it is "priceless." It takes Godfrey Ablewhite and Septimus Luker to place the diamond into the market economy and put cash value on it. These different spheres of value—spiritual, familial, and commercial—are also used to define the various communities of the novel—the East; upper-class, provincial English; and modern, urban English, respectively. The Unwelcome Return of the Past The preface to The Moonstone alerts us to the fact that the diamond carries with it a menacing history that can arise and infect the present with bad luck. Thus contemporary English society must pay for crimes committed (by extension) by imperial England. This threatened return of an evil, or shameful past (in this case, John Herncastle's violent conduct), is a theme that defines many of the characters of the novel, as well as the diamond itself. Ezra Jennings, in Chapter IX of the Third Narrative in the Second Period, says, "Perhaps we should all be happier, if we could but completely forget!" He is speaking explicitly of Mr.

Candy, but he is also referring to his own shameful past, which arises again and again in the present via painful gossip. Rosanna Spearman, too, finds she cannot escape her painful past, when she is immediately suspected of having stolen the Moonstone because of her history of being a thief. The Moonstone seems to advocate a straightforward interaction with one's past as the surest way of escaping the haunting of that past. Thus, once Franklin Blake lives through his past again in the recreation of the night of the diamond theft, he becomes completely free from the shameful implications of that past. Motifs Editorial Presence Franklin's presence as editor is apparent at selective moments in The Moonstone. It arises mainly in the form of footnotes but also in narrators' accounts of instructional conversations with him. The implications of his presence are twofold. First, it serves to remind us that the driving force of all of these narratives is to clear Franklin Blake's name of suspicion. Second, it encourages us to read the text of The Moonstone non-linearly. Franklin will often step in to refer us back to another section of another narrative for a different (or corroborating) viewpoint on the same facts.

Thus the experience of reading The Moonstone becomes a comparative, revisionist one. Outcast Counterparts Rosanna Spearman and Ezra Jennings exist as their own characters, yet also as the tragic, outcast counterparts to the respectable Victorian hero and heroine, Franklin and Rachel. Rosanna is aligned with Rachel in her love for Franklin, as well as her quick intelligence. Jennings is aligned with Franklin through his non-English background, his imaginative capacity, and his tragic history of being falsely accused of a crime he didn't commit. Rosanna and Jennings are both dead by the end of the novel. There is a sense that they exist to show the possibility of what could have happened to Rachel and Franklin if things had gone differently (for example, if Franklin had not acquitted himself of the theft of the diamond and had to wander around England away from his love and running from damaging rumors). Thus the deaths of Rosanna and Jennings are necessary to the harmonious closure of the novel in which Rachel and Franklin triumph against adversity.

Skepticism and Mysticism Franklin Blake, when explaining the superstitious history to a skeptical Betteredge in Chapter VI of the First Period, supports his own belief in the superstition by saying, "But then I am an imaginative man; and the butcher, the baker, and the tax-gatherer, are not the only credible realities in existence to my mind." When this statement was made, Franklin and Betteredge would have both had in mind Franklin's often-referred-to foreign education. A dichotomy is set up in The Moonstone between characters with non-English backgrounds and the accompanying imaginativeness or mysticism that comes from this (like Ezra Jennings, Franklin Blake, or the Indians), and the solidly English characters who seek logical explanations for supernatural phenomena and are, consequently, adverse to imaginative explanations (such as Betteredge and Mr. Bruff). Addiction Several critics have remarked that the novelty of The Moonstone lies in the fact that it is a story that hinges on opium and features an opium addict, as told by another opium addict—Wilkie Collins himself. Indeed, addiction of various sorts crop up in The Moonstone. Ezra Jennings and John Herncastle are both opium addicts.

Franklin Blake and Gabriel Betteredge are tobacco addicts. We might even say that Miss Clack is addicted to the distribution of her Christian pamphlets, as this action is presented as something that Miss Clack requires to make her feel normal and satisfied. Symbols The Moonstone The Moonstone stands, in the first place, as a symbol for the exoticness, impenetrability, and dark mysticism of the East—Gabriel remarks that the stone "seemed unfathomable as the heavens themselves" and "shone awfully out of the depths of its own brightness, with a moony gleam, in the dark." In the second place, the Moonstone is associated with femininity and even feminine virginity, through its associations with the moon and with pricelessness. The theft of the Moonstone from Rachel Verinder's bedroom by her nearly betrothed, Franklin Blake, can be read as a metaphor for her deflowering. Robinson Crusoe Gabriel Betteredge uses Robinson Crusoe as a prophetic text for his life, and often reads it while smoking tobacco. Robinson Crusoe is one of the first novels about early British imperialism—Crusoe leaves England and conquers a foreign, exotic territory.

Taken together, the novel and the tobacco—a crop of English colonies—stand as symbols of the imperial domination that England unthinkingly enjoyed over its own colonies. Godfrey's Disguise Godfrey's facial disguise—making him look dark-complected with a black beard and hair—stands as a fairly obvious symbol for his own duplicity in leading a double life. The dark-complexion that Godfrey has chosen also serves as a symbol for the willingness of some of the English characters to believe that the Indians—and not one of their own countrymen—were responsible for the theft of the diamond. More Help Bequeath to - Idioms by The Free Dictionary Bequeath to - Idioms by The Free Dictionary bequeath to bequeath something to someone to will something to someone; to leave something to someone. My uncle bequeathed some furniture to me. I will bequeath this watch to my grandson. Want to thank TFD for its existence? Tell a friend about us , add a link to this page, or visit the webmaster's page for free fun content . Link to this page: Write what you mean clearly and correctly. References in classic literature ?

But the inheritance consisted in this only, a scrap of paper on which Spada had written: -- `I bequeath to my beloved nephew my coffers, my books, and, amongst others, my breviary with the gold corners, which I beg he will preserve in remembrance of his affectionate uncle. View in context Her affection for him was still the chief sentiment in her heart; and he spoke without anger: he spoke in the deep tenderness of one about to leave his treasure amid perils and foes, where his remembered words would be the only aid that he could bequeath to guide her. View in context Thirdly, and lastly, I give and bequeath to my niece, Rachel Verinder, daughter and only child of my sister, Julia Verinder, widow--if her mother, the said Julia Verinder, shall be living on the said Rachel Verinder's next Birthday after my death--the yellow Diamond belonging to me, and known in the East by the name of The Moonstone: subject to this condition, that her mother, the said Julia Verinder, shall be living at the time.

View in context Whereas Jesus spoke about a world peace in Matthew, he speaks of an individual peace in John 14:27 when he says at the Last Supper: "Peace I bequeath to you, my own peace I give you, a peace which the world cannot give, this is my gift to you". chair's corner It is plain to me at least that if we are to have a worthwhile future to bequeath to our children, it will only be because we shall find the strength for true political activism and real social change precisely where Gandhi said it would be, at the grassroots. Does faith have a future? Simply state in your will (or add, if you already have an established one): "I give, devise, and bequeath to [put name of environmental group and address here] the sum of $ to be used for its general purposes" (or whatever particular program you're interested in supporting). The Moonstone questions???

| Pride and Prejudice Questions | Q & A | GradeSaver Answered by jill d #170087 on 3/18/2012 6:26 PM 2) The Moonstone stands, in the first place, as a symbol for the exoticness, impenetrability, and dark mysticism of the East—Gabriel remarks that the stone "seemed unfathomable as the heavens themselves" and "shone awfully out of the depths of its own brightness, with a moony gleam, in the dark." In the second place, the Moonstone is associated with femininity and even feminine virginity, through its associations with the moon and with pricelessness. The theft of the Moonstone from Rachel Verinder's bedroom by her nearly betrothed, Franklin Blake, can be read as a metaphor for her deflowering. 3) genre · Victorian novel; sensation novel; detective novel 5) narrator · The Moonstone features eleven different narrators: an unnamed cousin of John Herncastle; Gabriel Betteredge (steward to Lady Verinder); Miss Clack (Lady Verinder's niece); Mr.

Bruff (Lady Verinder's lawyer); Franklin Blake (Lady Verinder's nephew); Ezra Jennings (assistant to Dr. Candy); Sergeant Cuff; Dr. Candy; Sergeant Cuff's investigator; the Captain of the steamboat Bewley Castle; Mr. Murthwaite (traveler to India). Gabriel Betteredge and Franklin Blake narrate more than two sections each. Everyone else narrates one section. point of view · The point of view is first person, according to whoever is narrating. Franklin Blake has solicited all of the characters' first-person narrations and acts as editor. He occasionally steps into a narrative with a footnote to offer a different viewpoint. tone · The tone differs according to narrator. Betteredge's narrative has a tone of provincial good humor. Miss Clack's has a tone of self-righteous piety. The tone of the remaining narrators is mainly journalistic. tense · Franklin Blake begins to solicit the narratives in May of 1850, so the narrators are writing in 1850 of events that took place in 1848 or 1849.

Their narratives are largely in the past tense, slipping into the present tense to describe current interactions with Franklin as editor. 6)Rachel Verinder Rachel Verinder stands at the center of The Moonstone's plot, yet never speaks her own narrative. In fact, her character is defined largely by omission—omission of her own story—and her withholding of her knowledge about the theft of The Moonstone. This reticence makes Rachel an alluring heroine, according to the cultural logic by which women in a position of holding back are invested with a particular attractiveness. Aside from this quality, Rachel seems an un-idealized image of a heroine. Collins makes clear that she is slightly unconventional, physically, with small stature and dark features. Rachel challenges Victorian propriety and gender roles by treating men and women alike with a straightforward manner that can be startling in its lack of coyness. Rachel's most important character trait is her unwillingness to tell on the misdeeds of another. Collins is clear on the fact that this never amounts to dishonesty—instead of lying about a delicate subject, Rachel says nothing at all.

Rachel's main conflict in the novel is an internal one: the evidence of her senses, which tell her that Franklin Blake stole her diamond and lied about it, must combat her passionate feelings of love and trust in Franklin. Rachel seems to have a tragic counterpart in the outcast Rosanna Spearman. The two women are kindred in their impassioned natures and love for Franklin Blake. Source(s) Answered by jill d #170087 on 3/18/2012 6:27 PM Poor Rosanna. She's not a major character, but she plays an important role in moving the story forward. Like Rachel, if Rosanna had been more forthright, the mystery would not have been as long and drawn out. If Rosanna had gone to Lady Verinder with the stained nightgown, or even to Franklin himself, instead of hiding it in the quicksand, the mystery would have been solved. But Rosanna's reticence, or unwillingness to speak out, isn't the same as Rachel's. She refuses to speak because she's in love with Franklin Blake. This is actually kind of scandalous: a female servant in love with someone from the upper class?

Especially a female servant with a disability? It was practically unheard of during the nineteenth century for any woman to admit that she was in love with a man before he made advances first. It was considered improper. And for a servant girl to admit that she was in love with a social superior? That was just socially wrong. Or was it? Collins makes Rosanna a very sympathetic character. She doesn't have a lot going for her – she doesn't have a pretty face, one of her shoulders is deformed, she used to be a thief, and the other servants don't like her. But Collins shows that it's totally natural that she should fall in love with Franklin Blake. She has as much right to fall in love as Rachel has, even though Rosanna has less chance of happiness. Source(s) Answered by jill d #170087 on 3/18/2012 6:28 PM The Moonstone Narrator: Who is the narrator, can she or he read minds, and, more importantly, can we trust her or him? First Person (multiple central narrators) The Moonstone is composed of a series of first-person narratives, memos, letters, and journal entries.

The bulk of it is told retrospectively, from the points of view of the people involved in the action. Franklin Blake, one of the main characters, is responsible for collecting all the documents, and Gabriel Betteredge, the first narrator, quotes Franklin Blake's explanation on the first page of his narrative: 'There can be no doubt that this strange family story of ours ought to be told. And I think, Betteredge, Mr. Bruff and I together have hit on the right way of telling it. […] We have certain events to relate, […] and we have certain persons concerned in those events who are capable of relating them. Starting from these plain facts, the idea is that we should all write the story of the Moonstone in turn—as far as our own personal experience extends, and no farther. (1.1.1.7-8) So the first assertion Franklin Blake makes is that the story "ought to be told." He thinks that it's important for future generations of their family to know the truth about the Moonstone. He also thinks that there's a "right way of telling it." Lucky us!

We're sitting down to read a story that needs to be told, and we're going to hear it the only "right way" that it could be told. Of course, Franklin Blake wants to make sure that the bare facts are told – the reader (his imagined future generations) should be allowed to judge for him or herself. So that puts us in the position of detective – we hear the events just as the characters themselves experienced them, and we know only what they knew at the time. Source(s) Answered by jill d #170087 on 3/18/2012 6:29 PM Rachel is one of the central characters of the novel. You might even think of her as the romantic heroine, since she's the pretty girl that everyone wants to marry. Yet we never hear the story from her point of view. Why is that? Well, for one thing, it would spoil the suspense: she knows from the beginning that Franklin Blake took the Moonstone, although she doesn't know the reason why. And she keeps that knowledge to herself for most of the book, right up until Franklin forces her to speak out.

That reticence, or unwillingness to speak out, is one aspect of Rachel's character that is continually brought up. She's not chatty or gossipy like the other girls of her age. She doesn't tend to ask for advice. She is stubbornly secretive. Is this a good thing, or a bad thing? On the one hand, it makes her very independent. She doesn't rely on anyone else to give her advice. When she has a difficult decision to make, she takes her time, considers her options, and makes up her mind on her own. Being self-reliant is a good thing, right? Isn't it good that she doesn't tattle-tale on people she likes, even when it means getting in trouble herself? Sure, but up to a point. Think about how much time and trouble would have been saved if she had just confronted Franklin the morning after the diamond was stolen, and said, "Look, Franklin, I SAW you take it!" They would have figured out pretty quickly what must have happened, and the novel would have ended about three hundred pages sooner.

So Rachel's reticence is partly a plot device: for the story to go forward, it's necessary that Rachel should withhold what she knows. But it's also a comment about gender and femininity. When Gabriel Betteredge first describes her, he compares her to "other girls of her age," saying that "she judged for herself, as few women of twice her age judge in general" (1.1.8.19). Betteredge describes this as a "defect," though – it's not a compliment to say that a young woman is "independent" during the Victorian period. Mr. Bruff thinks so, too, generally speaking. But in Rachel, he considers it a virtue: This absolute self dependence is a great virtue in a man. In a woman it has the serious drawback of morally separating her from the mass of her sex, and so exposing her to misconstruction by the general opinion. I strongly suspect myself of thinking as the rest of the world think in this matter—except in the case of Rachel Verinder. The self-dependence in her character, was one of its virtues in my estimation. (2.2.1.55) Most women, according to Mr.

Bruff, should allow themselves to be guided by outside advice, while it's good for men, in general, to think for themselves. He's willing to make an exception for Rachel, though, because he knows that she's intelligent and sensible enough to make good decisions, even without asking advice. So where does that leave us? Most characters in the novel seem to hold the general view that women need guidance from men. But then, Mr. Bruff makes exceptions for women like Lady Verinder and Rachel who don't actually need guidance. It seems that Wilkie Collins might be making fun of the commonly held, sexist belief that women need men's advice to make important decisions. Everyone keeps saying that women need help, but in practice, none of the main female characters actually do. Source(s) Log In To Your GradeSaver Account Email

Question: Rachel Verinder’s diamond gives what book its title?
Answer: The Moonstone