The novel The Moonstone is set in England in 1848, but the story really began 50 years earlier. The Moonstone is a huge yellow diamond that was once part of a statue of the moon god in India. An Englishman murdered three holy men, stole the diamond from the temple and brought it back with him to London. When his sister heard about this, she would not speak to him any more. The diamond was cursed and the man lived a sad, lonely life without friends or family. When he died he left the Moonstone to his sister's daughter, Rachel, in an act of revenge, passing on his bad fortune to her. Rachel would receive the Moonstone as a present on the reception for her eighteenth birthday.
Rachel Verinder is a beautiful and wealthy young woman. She lives with her mother and several servants in a fine house in the north of England. She spends the days before her birthday party with her childhood friend Franklin Blake, painting a door in her sitting room with flowers and birds. They work together on it and finish it on Rachel's birthday. Franklin, who is a smoker, is very considerate towards Rachel. His move to quit smoking cigars to please her is seen by the servants as evidence that he is in love with Rachel.
The Moonstone is the most splendid gift to Rachel at her birthday party. All the guests are astonished by its size and rare beauty. But from the moment Rachel fastens it to her dress, things start going wrong. Is it coincidence or is it the Moonstone's bad luck that causes the tension and strange things that happen during the rest of the evening?
First of all, one of the guests, Godfrey, asks Rachel to marry him, but she declines. Godfrey is an elegant and successful bachelor with many lady admirers. Then over dinner, Franklin mentions that he has not been sleeping well since he gave up smoking and Dr Candy, the local doctor, offers to write him a prescription for some medicine. Franklin's reply that doctors just guess which drug they should recommend, makes Dr Candy extremely angry. Finally, some Indians in unusual foreign clothes come to the house offering to entertain the guests, but they are not very skilled and behave strangely.
At the end of the party everyone leaves except for Franklin and Godfrey, who are staying the night. Before going to bed, Rachel puts the diamond in a drawer of a cupboard in her sitting room, but the following morning it is gone. Troubled by the loss of such a valuable jewel, Rachel's mother hires the famous detective Sergeant Cuff to investigate the theft. As the story develops, we discover some secrets about the people at the house that night, and the reasons why they might have stolen the diamond.
At first Sergeant Cuff suspects the Indians. He finds out that they are not real entertainers, but religious followers of the moon god. They follow the Moonstone around the world waiting for an opportunity to take the diamond back to India. The detective wonders whether they hid somewhere in the house until everyone was asleep and then stole it.
He goes on asking questions about the party and learns about Franklin's quarrel with Dr Candy. He also hears that Godfrey was disappointed when Rachel refused to marry him. Did Dr Candy or Godfrey take the Moonstone as revenge for loss of face?
The servants also had opportunities to steal the Moonstone. Sergeant Cuff discovers that Rosanna, the maid, was a thief before Rachel's mother gave her the job. The other servants report that she has recently been busy doing something in her room late at night, and often goes for walks alone. Rosanna also seems very fond of Franklin. The detective believes she may have taken the diamond either from force of habit or to cause a disagreement between Rachel and Franklin.
Finally he considers Rachel and Franklin. Rachel is stubborn in resisting his enquiries about the Moonstone to the degree that she makes it seem as if she does not want the mystery to be solved. Did she steal the diamond herself? Perhaps she has debts that need to be paid. Franklin, on the other hand, gives the detective as much assistance as he can. Why is he so enthusiastic when the whole investigation clearly annoys Rachel?
Sergeant Cuff has one vital clue. He has found a smear in the wet paint on the door of Rachel's sitting room that was not there during the party. Whoever is guilty must have a stain on his or her clothes. If he can find the stained garment, he will have found the thief. So who stole the Moonstone? |