The Moonstone

By: Wilkie Collins

Narrated by: Patrick Tull

Length: 20 hrs and 28 mins

Publisher's summary

No, the "Moonstone" isn't a celestial relic, it's a gigantic yellow diamond of unearthly beauty that was given to Rachel Verinder as a present on her 18th birthday - and stolen that very night! Betteredge, one of the most beloved butlers in English literature, is the focus of this seminal detective novel, which examines how one family's life is turned upside-down by the theft. And find out why the answers to all of life's problems can be found in the pages of Robinson Crusoe.

Public Domain (P)1989 Recorded Books

Critic reviews

"The first, the longest, and the best of modern English detective novels." (T.S. Eliot)

"This finely crafted tale is riveting in the audio medium." ( Library Journal)

Best reading ever!

Have you listened to any of Patrick Tull’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

So far I am at chapter 13, and I am enjoying the narrative immensely! I've been listening to audiobooks for ten years now, and I would say this is one of the best.

A great Classic

Where does The Moonstone rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

I really enjoyed The Moonstone. I like to find looong books, (more for the money). This book was long and held my interest until the end.

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

Patrick Tull did an exceptional job. The characterization was so well done, I felt like I was "back in the day".

Patrick Tull makes this book!

I had always been curious about this book, which I understand is the first mystery novel. It was very good, though marred a bit by time, especially in the way the women characters are drawn. But what made this a great listen was the way the several narrators brought the characters to life. The best by far was Patrick Tull's reading of the butler obsessed with "Robinson Crusoe." Definitely worth listening to if you are a fan of British lit - just let yourself get lost in the performances and don't worry about the silly women or the improbable plot.

Perfect Victorian novel for audio

This book has multiple narrators and each are brilliantly voiced by the cast. Don’t miss the original detective story.

Slow start sudden end

God, this is but a long story and very rich in details.
But once you get to know the characters you'll soon get drawn into the book.
There are different views on the story and this is being told from different narrators, which makes it a real experiance. I liked the buttlar best. Anyhow, the finishing to the story is somewhat odd, and ends to sudden, compare to the richiness of the rest.

how patient are you?

I am a great fan of Dickens, Trollope and other authors of the lengthy Victorian novel. I looked forward to listening through the many hours of this classic early 'detective' novel. Unfortunately, it took much determination to slog through to the end. While there are many positive aspects of the book: the period detail, the amusing satires, especially that effected through the perceptions of Miss Clack. The running 'Robinson Crusoe' joke continued to amuse almost to the end. Sergeant Cuff is someone I'd love to meet again. But my goodness, the almost endless series of individual narratives with their inevitable repetitions was, to me, a torture. Even if one heard this story read out over a series of (many, many!) evenings in the family circle gathered around the fire, I think it would tax the patience of most listeners. In the case of this recording, the doling out of the various narratives to several different readers was a good idea. It did relieve some of the tedium of listening. Unfortunately, these narrators never seemed to have met, because the individual voices do not match from narrative to narrative (For example, Sergeant Cuff's voice is markedly different when interpreted by the various readers.)
Overall, I would only recommend this recording to a listener who had some academic research motive in knowing the story.

Dated

For me, this just hasn't stood the test of time. The mystery is predictable, the characters are dated, the writing just plods along. I'm an avid fan of Victorian novels, but this was very slow, and although I really wanted to like it, I was bored.

Wonderful

Great story and fabulous performance. I would highly recommend this audio book. I listen in my car on my commute back and forth to work and could hardly wait each day to continue the story.

Fantastic narration!

Man, I really, really enjoyed this, once I got a good audio version of it. This particular one is excellent--really great narrators. And the story was a lot of fun. Though I knew right away who the jewel thief was, I had no idea how it was done, and Collins drew out the mystery beautifully as each narrator contributes more pieces to the puzzle. There's also a lot of humor, which I wasn't expecting, and things are tied up perfectly at the end. I loved this, and I can't wait to read more of Wilkie Collins!

Definitely a Victorian Mystery!

This is a very long mystery with superb performance by the narrator. I just wish it could have been much, much shorter.

By the end of this long, strung out mystery; you may not care whether the lost diamond is ever found or not, or who stole it!!! Thank goodness mystery stories aren't written like that anymore!

Fortunately, the narration was very good.