THE MOONSTONE

The Moonstone,a large,beautiful yet fated diamond,was stolen from an Indian shrine.It is given to Rachel Verinder on her eighteenth birthday and,that same night,stolen again.
Sergeant Cuff is employed by rachel's mother to find the precious stone and has no shortage of suspects.By turns,those on the periphery and at the heart of the mystery tell their version of events until all is unravelled at the unexpected conclusion.
A pioneer in the art of the English detective novel and a master of innovation,Wilkie Collins was one of the most successful and gifted writers of his generation.In the words of Michael Innes The Moonstone'stands alone in its kind... [there is ]a sense of attending upon the birth of the detective story'.

作者简介：
WILKIE COLLINS(1824-89).Although he was one of the most popular novelists of his day,Wilkie Collins's reputation now rests on his novels The woman in White and the Moonstone.An expert in mystery,suspense and crime,he is often regarded as the inventor of the detective story.
The Moonstone appeared in serial form in All the Year Round during the first eight months of 1868.Described by T.S.Eliot as‘the first,the longest,and the best of mod-ern English detecitve novels’,it is still one of the most carefully plotted works of fiction ever written.

PROLOGUE
THE STORMING OF SERINGAPATAM
Extracted from a Family Paper
THE STORY
First Period
The Events related by Gabriel Betteredge,House-steward in the service of Julia,lady Verinder
Second Period
THE DISCOVERY OF THE TRUTH(1848-49)
The Events related in several Narratives
FIRST NARRATIVE
Contributed by Miss Clack,Niece of the Late Sir John Vcrinder
SECOND NARRATIVE
Contributed by Mathew Bruff,Solicitor,of Gray's Inn Square
THIRD NARRATIVE
Contributed by Franklin Blake
FOURTH NARRATIVE
Extracted from the Journal of Ezra Jennings
FIFTH NARRATIVE
The Story resumed by Franklin Blake
SIXTH NARRATIVE
Contributed by Sergeant Cuff
SEVENTH NARRATIVE
In a Letter from Mr Candy
EIGHTH NARRATIVE
Contributed by Gabriel Betteredge
EPILOGUE
THE FINDING OF THE DIAMOND
1 THE STATEMENT OF SERGEANT CUFF'S MAN(1949)
2 THE STATEMENT OF THE CAPTAIN(1849)
3 THE STATEMENT OF MR MURTHWAITE(1850)
Ina Letter to Mr Bruff