The Moonstone

The Moonstone is Wilkie Collins’s masterwork and one of the greatest novels of the Nineteenth Century. The novel that T.S. Eliot, called “the first, the longest, and the best of the modern English detective novels” is a classic tale of mystery and intrigue and is the first of its kind in this genre of literature. Moonstone is the legendary diamond stone set in the forehead of the statue of god at Somnath. Apart from being sacred and of great religious significance, the diamond also seems to have miraculous powers. The plot of the novel is complex. True to its enigmatic nature, the Moonstone disappears from Rachel’s room on the night of her eighteenth birthday, igniting a mystery so intricate and thrilling it has set the standard for every crime novel of the past.
Widely considered the first great detective novel written in English, ‘The Moonstone’ is one of Wilkie Collins’s most famous works. With its elements of suspense and sensations, the novel is delightful to readers of all ages.

Wilkie Collins was an English novelist and playwright, best known for The Woman in White (1860), an early sensation novel, and The Moonstone (1868), a pioneering work of detective fiction. Born to landscape painter William Collins and Harriet Geddes, he spent part of his childhood in Italy and France, learning both languages. Initially working as a tea merchant, he later studied law, though he never practiced. His literary career began with Antonina (1850), and a meeting with Charles Dickens in 1851 proved pivotal. The two became close friends and collaborators, with Collins contributing to Dickens' journals and co-writing dramatic works.
Collins' success peaked in the 1860s with novels that combined suspense with social critique, including No Name (1862), Armadale (1864), and The Moonstone, which established key elements of the modern detective story. His personal life was unconventional—he openly opposed marriage and lived with Caroline Graves and her daughter for much of his life, while also maintaining a separate relationship with Martha Rudd, with whom he had three children.
Plagued by gout, Collins became addicted to laudanum, which affected both his health and later works. Despite declining quality in his writing, he remained a respected figure, mentoring younger authors and advocating for writers' rights. He died in 1889 and was buried in Kensal Green Cemetery. His legacy endures through his influential novels, which laid the groundwork for both sensation fiction and detective literature.