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The Moonstone: A NovelStock informationGeneral Fields
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DescriptionDuring the Siege of Seringapatam in southern India in 1799, Colonel John Herncastle steals the Moonstone, a large yellow diamond, from the head of a Hindu god in a violent plunder. Jumping forward to 1848 England, Gabriel Betteredge, house steward of the Verinder estate, reveals that the famous stone has been left to Colonel Herncastle's niece, Rachel Verinder, in his will. She inherits the diamond on her eighteenth birthday, but it is stolen from her room that same night. A highly valuable gem already shrouded in superstition, and now missing for fifty years, the moonstone creates a commotion the moment it arrives at the Verinder estate. Rachel wears the stone to her birthday party, but after it disappears from her room, suspicions and accusations start flying. Was it taken by the three Indian jugglers who have been near the house; by Rosanna Spearman, a maidservant who begins to act oddly and who then drowns herself in a local quicksand; or by Rachel herself, who also behaves suspiciously and is suddenly furious with Franklin Blake, with whom she has previously appeared to be enamored, when he directs attempts to find it? Reviews"Probably the very finest detective story ever written."--G. K. Chesterton, author of "The Victorian Age in Literature" Author descriptionWilliam Wilkie Collins (8 January 1824 - 23 September 1889) was an English novelist, playwright, and author of short stories. He was very popular during the Victorian era and wrote 30 novels, more than 60 short stories, 14 plays, and over 100 non-fiction pieces. His best-known works are The Woman in White, The Moonstone, Armadale, and No Name. |