THE MOONSTONE

Described by T.S. Eliot as "the first, the longest and the best of modern English detective novels," Wilkie Collins's classic "The Moonstone" is also an important precursor of the modern mystery and suspense genres. When Rachel Verinder's legacy of a priceless Indian diamond is stolen, all the evidence indicates that it is her beloved, Franklin Blake, who is guilty. Around this central axis of a crime and a thwarted love, Collins constructs an ingenious plot of teasing twists and surprises, and an elaborate multi-voiced narrative that never flags in human interest. A huge hit when first published and ever since, "The Moonstone" keeps the reader guessing until the end, and together with "The Woman in White" places Collins among the greatest storytellers in the English language.