The Moonstone

By: Wilkie Collins

Narrated by: Peter Jeffrey

Length: 18 hrs and 45 mins

Publisher's summary

Exclusively from Audible

Considered the first full-length detective story in the English language, T.S. Eliot described The Moonstone as 'the first and greatest English detective novel'.

The stone of the title is an enormous yellow diamond plundered from an Indian shrine after the Siege of Seringapatam. Given to Miss Verinder on her 18th birthday, it mysteriously disappears that very night. Suspicion falls on three Indian jugglers who have been seen in the neighbourhood. Sergeant Cuff is assigned to the case and though it looks simple nothing can be taken for granted.

The story is recounted by several narrators including the bemused butler, the love-sick housemaid, the enigmatic detective Sergeant Cuff and the drug-addicted scientist, who in turn, speculate on the mystery.

This enthralling tale of romance, theft, and murder inspired the detective genre. In a sense, Collins wrote the rulebook on detective stories as many features of The Moonstone have become conventions in the literature of others.

Charles Dickens was a close friend and mentor of Collins, and the two collaborated together on drama and fiction. The Moonstone, as well as some of his other work, was first published in Dickens' journals.

Narrator Biography

Beginning his career on stage, Peter Jeffrey became a recognisable face on British television while enjoying thirty years with the Royal Shakespeare Company as well as working with all the other great British theatre companies. He was soon in demand for television character parts, playing roles in shows such as The Saint (1964-1965), The Avengers (1966-1968) and Doctor Who (1967 and 1978) as well as being involved in many BBC Radio 4 audio dramas such as The Pickwick Papers. Though a versatile actor, he was often cast in roles of authority such as Inspector Carter in Dixon of Dock Green (1966) but occasionally guest starred in comedy roles such as "Napper" Wainwright in Porridge (1975). He continued to act during his final years, with roles in the BBC adaptation of The Prince and the Pauper (1996), The Scarlet Pimpernel (1999) and Where the Heart Is (1999).

Public Domain (P)2014 Audible, Inc.

Long - all entertaining.

Excellent narration. Pure fabulous storytelling. I listen in the background as I do other tasks, if that is your habit the story is for you.

much loved story with outstanding narration

The late, great Mr. Jeffries is now one of my favorite readers. I can't say enough about his beautiful, adaptable voice, or his exquisite timing and phrasing. This story is a glorious old favorite of mine, and this reader did it full justice. This audiobook is one of the greats!

Modern readers might keep in mind that this was written in the Victorian era, over 150 yrs ago: for a book of that period, it's exceptionally tightly written and fast-paced! This writer's language is among the most readable and modern-sounding to come out of that era, and he laid the groundwork for how mystery novels have been written ever since.

Wilkie Collins was a lawyer, and that precision and Socratic technique shows. Modern detective writers take the question-and-answer technique from Wilkie Collins and those who imitated him. It's a great device for detective novels.

This story's culture creates a novel which, by modern standards, unfolds rather slowly, but beautifully conveys the thinking and individual voices of the series of narrators. (I have to admit that I now skip over the second part of Miss Clack's wittering, until she gets all stroppy & reveals herself as, not cluelessly well-meaning, but as the bantam-minded little thug she really wants to be. XD! We've all known people like her.)

Put your feet up, relax, and enjoy the ride!

Implausible but Interesting

The story starts out very slow, but it does build and hold your interest once it gets going. I enjoyed the variety of the multiple narrator approach, although how blindly devoted some people are to other people is tiring and makes you sort of dislike people you're not supposed to dislike, though I suppose at least that keeps you suspecting everyone. I was impressed by how well the story keeps you guessing, though the solution ultimately feels a bit anticlimactic and ends up relying on a lot of coincidence and what modern eyes can see is a deeply flawed "scientific" experiment. On balance there are things to like and not to like, but I did find it interesting.

I was surprised how much I loved this!

I had no idea I was going to love this novel so much! Classics are hit or miss for me and epistolary novels are even more iffy for me, but I ended up devouring this as quickly as I was able given the constraints of my job. I listened to the audio narration by Peter Jeffrey, and read along with him whenever I could. I love reading books this way when I can, especially if the narration is good, because the voicing and accents add so much to the story. I can't tell you how many times I laughed out loud, especially during Miss Clack's part of the story.

This was a classic mystery novel before mystery novels became a thing. Heck, this was before systematic detection was a thing. There was certainly no such thing as crime labs, fingerprinting, let alone DNA evidence. I loved how our opening narrator, Betteredge, would mention getting caught up in mystery fever as I could totally understand it.

I loved the parallels that Collins drew between Rosanna and Rachel, and between Ezra and Franklin! It really added to the romance of the whole story. This was a story I went into knowing nothing about the book (I honestly thought it was going to be a murder mystery) and I have to say it was awesome trying to figure out what was going on and wondering where the heck the moonstone was. I had so much fun with this story and am so glad it came across my radar, first in the Lady Sherlock series by Sherry Thomas, and then in one of the reading groups I'm a part of. It makes me want to read the Woman in White next!

If you know nothing about this story, don't look anything up. Just dive in and have fun reading it and see if you can figure out what's going on. I won't say anymore as I don't want to spoil it for you!

One of my favorite books…

…made even more enjoyable by a fantastic performance by Peter Jeffrey. Thanks for making this available

Wonderful

This book is wonderful in it human observations. Betteredge is filled delightful touches of humor... all the characters are well painted and the narrator brings life to them individually and with nuance. Sure you can find fault with the different times if you choose, or you can 'overcome yiur reason' and discover a universality of human desires. it is interesting to think on our faults, desires or strengths of character may be invisible to ourselves but transparent to those wise people around us. I recommend without reservation.

A many-layered treat worth savoring more than once

This is a classic for a reason. Despite its impressive length, the listener doesn't want it to end. (Well, this one didn't, at any rate.)

At its heart, this is a mystery story - the first great detective novel, in fact - centered on the question of the theft of the moonstone. (This layers irony upon irony, as it is stolen no less than four times - and, for that matter, the tale is built on the original theft of the stone by a British officer from its native Indian setting.) Collins skillfully builds the novel upon the foundations of the real-life Constance Kent murder case of 1860, basing the police inspector, Sergeant Cuff, on the living model of Detective Inspector Jonathan 'Jack' Whicher. He also captures some of the burgeoning method and mindset of forensic science through the theories and experiments of his character Mr. Candy.

What sets this novel apart, beyond its claim to many "firsts," is the remarkable multi-layered texture of the tale. Collins uses a variety of narrators - male and female, highborn and lowly, of various ethnic and racial backgrounds - to convey his story, and he shows remarkable sympathy and sensitivity in writing about the outcast and marginalized characters as well as the mainstream and traditional ones. The Moonstone may be a read as a work of social criticism, an indictment of imperialism and the white man's (or woman's) burden, and a commentary on a crucial moment in intellectual history in which custom, faith, superstition, prejudice, reason, and science were colliding in a particularly powerful way. Even Collins's minor characters and asides are weighty and thought-provoking.

The Moonstone outsold Great Expectations by Dickens when it was originally published, and it's easy to see why. As a novel - not simply a detective novel, or a Victorian novel, or an English novel - it holds up extremely well to multiple modern readings/listenings.

Peter Jeffrey's narration is as flawless as they come. He manages to distinguish many characters' voices from each other with seeming effortlessness, and he fills his reading with warmth and humor, dread and pathos at all the perfect places. I simply can't recommend this highly enough.

Stick with it

I enjoyed this book so much!
At first I wondered if I could get past the “stiff, old-fashioned” style of writing and I’m glad I stuck with it. The narration was excellent- many voices and accents, male and female- he really brought the story to life. It has been billed as the first detective novel and I found I was interested to find out whodunnit as I have been with any more modern story. Highly recommended.

Quite the Intrigue

Would you listen to The Moonstone again? Why?

I do plan to listen again. It was a fantastically woven story. I have to say, it really had me guessing and reevaluating right up until near the end. There were so many threads to follow, and many interesting characters to try to figure out. It was quite the tangled intrigue. It's almost difficult to talk about without many spoilers, so without divulging, let it suffice that it kept me gripped. I thought I'd been developing a knack for cracking whodunits pre-reveal, but this one was well beyond my powers. As it turns out, this is probably the earliest of what I'd deem a detective novel, and was distinct in character from my usual mystery favorites by the later writers like Conan Doyle and Christie. Some aspects struck me as a bit sensational, too fantastic, like the myth surrounding the stone and deadly foreigners come for revenge and to return their relic... but other parts of the story-line were perfectly down to earth and believable, like the maid's story of unrequited love. Not my usual type of mystery novel at all, but well worth the read.

Who was your favorite character and why?

Definitely the detective. I felt rather sorry for Inspector Cuff, how things were turning out, after all of his work and sound theories.

What does Peter Jeffrey bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

I don't know if I could have tackled this book in print form, it might have been a bit tedious. With the narration, it helped keep track of players, and brought it more to life.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

Well, I might have if I could, but it was too long, and there weren't enough free hours in my day.

Any additional comments?

I recently read the non-fictional Suspicions of Mr. Whicher, which tells the story of a sensationalized murder in 1860 and the investigation and fallout. Remarkably, as I was reading, the thought occurred to me that many of the events, characters, and suggestions sounded familiar, like a plot out of a book- like the Moonstone. "Suspicions" later went on to mention the author Collins and his writings, and how his novel and many other new "detective" stories of the day were drawing from the headlines and that crime. Gave an interesting new perspective. I liked the fictionalized goings-on better, in the end.

Fantastic reading of an excellent book!

This reader, Peter Jeffrey, is a genius at his craft. He made this book so fresh and engaging!