The Moonstone

Exactly 150 years since its publication in 1868, this reissue of Collins' popular Detective Club edition of The Moonstone offers crime fiction fans the chance to read the book that is acclaimed as the very first detective novel in the English language.

At a party celebrating her eighteenth birthday, Rachel Verinder wears the stunning yellow diamond she unexpectedly inherited from her uncle, unaware that it was plundered from a sacred Indian shrine fifty years earlier. When the jewel goes missing later that night, suspicions are raised and accusations fly in all directions. Sifting through divergent accounts of what happened, the indomitable Sergeant Cuff must find the Moonstone and the truth about its mysterious disappearance.

Recognised as the very first detective novel in the English language, The Moonstone (1868) earned Wilkie Collins the reputation of the godfather of the classic English detective story, with Dorothy L. Sayers declaring, ‘Nothing human is perfection, but The Moonstone comes about as near perfection as anything of the kind ever can.' For 150 years its intricate locked-room puzzle and multiple narrators have influenced generations of mystery authors.

This Detective Club classic reproduces Collins' slightly abridged version of the novel, originally designed to make the long nineteenth-century text more accessible. It is introduced by the iconic crime writing duo G.D.H. and M. Cole, who analyse the popularity of Wilkie Collins' groundbreaking sensation novel.

About the Author

William Wilkie Collins (1824-1889) was an English novelist, playwright, and author of short stories. He wrote 30 novels, more than 60 short stories, 14 plays, and more than 100 essays. His best-known works are The Woman in White and The Moonstone.