The Moonstone(Wordsworth Classics)月亮宝石 9781853260445pdf/txt下载_在线阅读全文

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Spotlight Reviews
1.The First and Greatest English Detective Novel?, May 12, 2003
Reviewer: A. Wolverton (Crofton, MD United States)

As many reviewers have noted, T.S. Eliot called `The Moonstone' "the first and greatest English detective novel." Is the novel worthy of such praise? We shall see...
The story begins with a brief prologue describing how the famous yellow diamond was captured during a military campaign in India by a British officer in 1799. The action moves quickly to 1848 England, where, according to the British officer's will, the diamond has been given to one of the soldier's young relatives, Rachel Verinder. Yet only hours after the diamond arrives at the Verinder estate, it disappears. Was it stolen by a relative? A servant? And who are these three Indian men who keep hanging around the estate?

`The Moonstone' is told from the point of view of several characters. The first portion of the tale is told by Gabriel Betteredge, house steward of the Verinder estate, who has been working for the family practically his entire life. Although over 200 pages, Betteredge's account holds the reader's interest as he introduces the main players and the crime itself. The next account, by distant Verinder relative Miss Clack, is humorous and somewhat important, but far too long (nearly 100 pages) for its relevance to the story. But after Miss Clack's account, things really take off at breakneck speed.

Readers who latch onto the T.S. Eliot quote expecting a modern detective tale will be sorely disappointed. You aren't going to see anything resembling Jeffrey Deaver, James Patterson, Sue Grafton, or even Mary Higgins Clark. You also won't see Mickey Spillane, Dashiel Hammett, or Raymond Chandler. Nor will you see Agatha Christie, Dorothy Sayers, or Martha Grimes. You won't even see Arthur Conan Doyle. But you WILL see the novel that influenced them all.

Spotlight Reviews 1.The First and Greatest English Detective Novel?, May 12, 2003 Reviewer: A. Wolverton (Crofton, MD United States) As many reviewers have noted, T.S. Eliot called `The Moonstone' "the first and greatest English detective novel." Is the novel worthy of such praise? We shall see... The story begins with a brief prologue describing how the famous yellow diamond was captured during a military campaign in India by a British officer in 1799. The action moves quickly to 1848 England, where, according to the British officer's will, the diamond has been given to one of the soldier's young relatives, Rachel Verinder. Yet only hours after the diamond arrives at the Verinder estate, it disappears. Was it stolen by a relative? A servant? And who are these three Indian men who keep hanging around the estate? `The Moonstone' is told from the point of view of several characters. The first portion of the tale is told by Gabriel Betteredge, house steward of the Verinder estate, who has been working for the family practically his entire life. Although over 200 pages, Betteredge's account holds the reader's interest as he introduces the main players and the crime itself. The next account, by distant Verinder relative Miss Clack, is humorous and somewhat important, but far too long (nearly 100 pages) for its relevance to the story. But after Miss Clack's account, things really take off at breakneck speed. Readers who latch onto the T.S. Eliot quote expecting a modern detective tale will be sorely disappointed. You aren't going to see anything resembling Jeffrey Deaver, James Patterson, Sue Grafton, or even Mary Higgins Clark. You also won't see Mickey Spillane, Dashiel Hammett, or Raymond Chandler. Nor will you see Agatha Christie, Dorothy Sayers, or Martha Grimes. You won't even see Arthur Conan Doyle. But you WILL see the novel that influenced them all. You'll also see something else. Something that modern mystery/detective writers have for the most part lost. Characters. Oh sure, modern writers have characters, but for the most part, the reader only learns enough about the character to forward the plot. In our time, plot is King. When `The Moonstone' was published (1868), one of the novel's attractions was its characters. Collins has painted each of these characters so well that the reader feels that they know not only how they look, but their mannerisms, their movements, how they think, and their view of the world they live in. That type of character development is seriously lacking today, not from all writers, but from far too many. Of course, the down side is that Colllins also took over 500 pages to develop those characters. Is the book too long? For most modern readers, the answer is yes. I believe it all has to do with your expectation. Put modern mystery/detective stories out of your head. Then read `The Moonstone' as you would any other novel. Get lost in the atmosphere and the characters. Immerse yourself. Most of all, enjoy. Reading `The Moonstone' is like eating at a fine restaurant after months of fast food. When it's over, you just want to sit back in your favorite chair and say, "It's nice to know that the finer things are still available." Yes they are. Treat yourself to this gourmet book. 2.Don't read this book if illogical characters annoy you, June 26, 2000 Reviewer: C. Sahu "Cathy Sahu" (Southern California) The fact that this book has a "classic" label is the real mystery here. I can't think of another "classic" that has such basic and major flaws. I am mystified that, as noted above in the professional reviews, T.S. Eliot thought so much of it. Honestly, the characters in the Moonstone are really ridiculous. I don't mean that they're badly drawn or personally obnoxious. But the reasoning behind their actions is frequently, in fact at many key points, illogical. It's hard to give examples that don't also give away the plot, but, for instance: the Moonstone is stolen. Everyone almost immediately fears that it was taken by the heroine, who ACTUALLY OWNS the diamond and was, in fact, just given it as a present. Why would she steal her own diamond? We follow the merrily skipping Mr. Wilkie down several more garden chapters before he finally suggests that maybe the heroine stole her own diamond in order to pay off debts, from, like, gambling or something! Even if it had been suggested that the heroine could have incurred any such debts -- which is entirely nonsensical, because she's watched like a hawk by her highly morally exemplary mom and about 50 devoted old servants, and she's an heiress -- even if she could have owed large sums of money, then WHY in the world wouldn't she have just pretended to LOSE the diamond while boating, or have a copy made and replace the original with the copy, or any other of a dozen much more plausible possibilities? Later on, a suicide note (or, technically, a letter that was only to be opened in the event of suicide) goes on for, I believe, 20 close-written pages, carefully explaining all the gaps in the plot up to that time. The letter is so long that the hero stops in the middle of it (delaying the resolution of the mystery) to REST HIS EYES! And (surprisingly!), the note is written in the same voice and style as all the other characters' accounts are written, chatty and surprisingly cheerful for a suicide note, except towards the end, when it suddenly turns mawkish. Characters change their minds constantly, in ways that just happen to further the plot. Mysterious suggestions are made about characters' backgrounds that are then dropped and never come into play at all. That and many other such psychologically inconsistent occurences and attitudes make the story a waste of time for any reader who pays attention to anything deeper than the superficial plot line. The other customer reviewer below, who quoted Dickens's opinion of the book, it right on. Still, I give it 3 stars because, if you can suspend your disbelief in the regard I've described (and I know many readers are not fussy about such things, and probably would think I was nit-picking), the book could be a lot of fun. Cursed jewels, family vengeance, proposals of marriage, dark murderous foreigners, quicksand, lots of traveling between London and the country, and England and the continent - it's certainly entertaining on that score. And they say the book is important in terms of literary history. I just wish Wilkie would have been a little more hard on himself during the plot formulation phase, and in the rewrite. Customer Reviews 1.Hilarious social satire, October 22, 2006 Reviewer: A prolific reader (Seal Beach, California) Among its many other delights, this book has my favorite "butler-narrator" in all of fiction, Gabriel Betteredge. Betteredge's insights into the British upper classes are downright hilarious. Take, for example, the passage in which he describes Miss Rachel and Mr. Franklin's newfound passion for decorative painting. After noting that the lives of the British gentlefolks are spent, for the most part, "in looking about them for something to do," he goes on: "Nine times out of ten they take to tortuing something or spoiling something -- and they firmly believe they are improving their mind, when the plain truth is, they are only making a mess in the house. I have seen them . . . go out, day after day, for example, with empty pillboxes, and catch newts and beetles and spiders and frogs, and come home and stick pins through the miserable wretches, or cut them up, without a pang or remorse, into little pieces. . . . . As for Mr. Franklin and Miss Rachel, they tortured nothing, I am glad to say. The simply confined themselves to making a mess; and all they spoilt, to do them justice, was the panelling of a door." Betteredge has the loyalty of all good British butlers, but it's a tongue-in-cheek sort of loyalty. At one point, the main detective in the story makes a case against Miss Rachel. I love Betteredge's response, in which he advises the reader to "cultivate a superiority to reason": "It was downright frightful to hear him piling up proof after proof against Miss Rachel, and to know, while one was longing to defend her, that there was no disputing the truth of what he said. I am (thank God!) constitutionally superior to reason. This enabled me to hold firm to my lady's view, which was my view also." The witty narrative voices and the whodunnit plot make this a fun and fast read. 2.Groundbreaking Novel worth 4.5 stars, May 24, 2006 Reviewer: Neal J. Pollock (VA USA) In many ways this is a brilliant work. It's difficult to review now since our tastes have changed and since part of its value was in its originality -- which has been built upon by more modern authors. Thus, it is a true classic. One's valuation of it has much to do with whether one evaluates it in the context of the 19th century or the 21st. Collins subtly criticizes much of 19th century English society in his treatment of Ezra, Clack, Mrs. Merridew, etc. Even Betteredge's reliance on "Robinson Crusoe" seems to reflect on Victorian religious mores (i.e. perhaps (?) an allusion to the Bible). Differences in social mores today can be seen in both Rachel's & Rosanna's coverups etc. The basic structure of the book--a series of eyewitness accounts reminds one of certain TV shows & the normal operation of our police or CSIs--where evidence is uncovered bit by bit though interviews & re-interviews. Today's mysteries rely on yesterday's just as today's sitcoms rely on Shakespeare's comedies. Collins appears to succeed overall in well-defining his characters and their styles along with their assumptions, prejudices, etc. However, as Collins states in his Author's Preface, "The attempt made here, is to trace the influence of character on circumstances" vs. its opposite per most other novels. This is a lengthy & enjoyable (though at times a bit tedious & wordy) novel--not really escape fiction as with many of the pseudo mysteries of today (more suspense story than legitimate mystery with clues etc. that are fair to the reader). Its values are much deeper. It may not become your favorite, but it's well worth discovering.

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内容简介

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The Moonstone, a priceless Indian diamond which had come to England as spoils of war, is given to Rachel Verrinder on her 18th birthday. That night, the stone is stolen. The phlegmatic Sergeant Cuff is called in, and with the help of the loquacious steward, Betteredge, the mystery is solved.

From AudioFile

<a target="_blank">在线阅读本书</a> The Moonstone, a priceless Indian diamond which had come to England as spoils of war, is given to Rachel Verrinder on her 18th birthday. That night, the stone is stolen. The phlegmatic Sergeant Cuff is called in, and with the help of the loquacious steward, Betteredge, the mystery is solved. From AudioFile This seminal English mystery is presented in an unusual, but appropriate, manner, reflecting the episodic nature of the story. Three actors present the story in parts, taking on separate first-person accounts of events. All the voices are convincing, cultured British intonations describing the events surrounding the apparent theft of the Moonstone diamond from a country mansion. Each voice shades the various characters featured within the particular parts, just as the narrative offers characterizations of the other persons without attempting an outright mimicry. The abridgment is nicely done, too, avoiding any choppiness.

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作者简介

Wilkie Collins Wilkie Collins (William Wilkie Collins), 1824–89, English novelist. Although trained as a lawyer, he spent most of his life writing, producing some 30 novels. He is best known for two mystery stories, The Woman in White (1860) and The Moonstone (1868), which are considered the first full-length detective novels in English and among the best of their genre; they helped to define the genre of literary melodrama which would peak at the end of the century. Collins's heroines are drawn with considerable clarity and sympathy. He was a friend of Dickens, in whose periodical Household Words many of Collins's novels first appeared.

目　　录

INTRODUCTION
THE MOONSTONE
Preface
Preface to a New Edition
PROLOGUE
The Storming of Seringapatam（1799）
THE STORY:FIRST PERIOD
The Loss of the Diamond（1848）
THE STORY:SECOND PERIOD
The Discovery of the Truth（1848—1849）
EPILOGUE
The Finding of the Diamond
NOTES

The Moonstone(Wordsworth Classics)月亮宝石 9781853260445下载

The Moonstone(Wordsworth Classics)月亮宝石 9781853260445

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