The first chapter from A. Vladimirovich’s new book, dedicated to the history of the creation of the popular novel by Wilkie Collins “ Moon rock».

Fragments from the book

Chapter first. About the first adventures and misadventures on English soil of the legendary diamond, nicknamed Kohinoor

The writer and the diamond first met at the World Exhibition of 1851.

As soon as the precious stone arrived from India, Queen Victoria ordered that this symbol of victory over the rebellious Hindus be put on public display - just as the Romans did two thousand years ago.

His journey to England was accompanied by countless adventures, which I will definitely tell you about. Having received news of the arrival of Kohinoor, or the "Mountain of Light", the queen seemed to shake off the tension of the last months of waiting and was in high spirits for several days. As she noted in her diary: "This day is one of the greatest and most glorious of our lives... it is a day when my heart is filled with gratitude...". But as the first of May approached - the opening date of the exhibition at which the diamond was planned to be exhibited - the tension returned. The courtiers even said that the first day of May was the most anticipated event during Victoria's reign. The monarch herself, like most of her entourage, involuntarily felt excitement at the mere thought of this: “Kohinoor and other treasures were to be presented to the whole world.”

The Great Exhibition, or more accurately the Great Exhibition of the Industrial Works of All Nations, was supposed to be the greatest ever. This is exactly how Robert Peel, the head of the Conservative Party and the eminence grise of English politics who oversaw the project, formulated his task. Victoria, together with her husband Prince Albert, not only trusted him infinitely: they loved this tireless man, the builder of fantastic plans and an outstanding reformer. But shortly before the start of organizational work, the royal’s favorite died after falling from a restive horse. The royal couple unanimously decided that Peel's plan could not be abandoned, despite the mourning, it must be brought to life. The Great Exhibition was intended to be a showcase for the best examples of culture and industry from around the world.

Shortly before the tragic incident, the Prince Consort became involved in organizing the exhibition event, overcoming all the obstacles of the British bureaucracy to hold it. Albert “was an active person. He opened museums, laid the first stone in the foundations of hospitals under construction, chaired meetings of agricultural societies, and participated in scientific meetings.”

It was the queen's husband who managed to ensure that the project site was moved from the suburbs to the very heart of the British capital - to Hyde Park. He also hoped that the success of the enterprise would allow him to become popular and gain recognition among the British. The prince came from the Duchy of Saxe-Coburg, a tiny and impoverished country in Germany, which was smaller in size than the smallest English county. In addition, Albert was a Protestant and a subject of Germany, and therefore most of the British treated His Royal Highness with undisguised contempt. For example, parliamentarians, wanting to clearly demonstrate their “finess” to the prince consort, assigned him a payment of thirty thousand pounds, although all previous royal spouses received fifty thousand, and Victoria herself received thirteen times more.

In the palace where the newlyweds lived, his position was completely unbearable. Here, everything was run by the queen’s governess, Louise Letzen, who humiliated Victoria’s husband in every possible way, for which the latter nicknamed her “pet dragon” and tried with all his might to deprive her of influence. It was Albert who managed to restore order in the palace economy, where there was complete confusion. For example, the windows in the palace were washed by two different departments: one with inside, the other - from the outside. Also, the meticulous Saxon prince discovered that, according to documents, up to half a barrel of selected wine was supplied daily to a certain “red drawing room” of the palace. It turns out that during the time of King George III, officers of the royal guard rested in this room and brightened up the hardships of their service with abundant libations. After the death of George III, expensive wine continued to be supplied there for another twenty-five years, where the servants indulged in it with pleasure. Therefore, the “Great Exhibition” became a chance for Albert to prove his importance to his new homeland, and he happily took Peel’s project into his own hands.

The exhibition was to take place in the “Crystal Palace” - this is how Londoners dubbed the huge glass and metal building built especially for this grandiose event. Under the arches of the Crystal Palace, measuring 563 meters long and almost 125 meters wide, there was a space measuring 70 square kilometers, which housed 13 thousand objects and exhibits from around the world. Among the completely unique curiosities were exhibits not only from Great Britain and its colonies, but also truly unusual items from the most different countries. Even a stone mosaic table and cabinet made by the Peterhof Lapidary Factory were exhibited, as stated in a special entry in the magazine. But, so to speak, the highlight of the exhibition was the opportunity to see a rare gem - the Kohinoor diamond.

The territory was divided into galleries extending from the central boulevard and fenced off by trees, fountains and sculptures from numerous areas with exhibits. The Crystal Palace resembled a kind of city with streets, squares and monuments. The construction of an incredible-sized pavilion and the media hype caused extraordinary excitement far beyond the capital. Most Londoners and island residents dreamed of visiting this wonder of the world. And, indeed, in five and a half months, six million people, mainly British, visited the exhibition: an incredible figure for its time, because six million was a third of the entire population of the then Great Britain.

This is how our compatriot, Fyodor Mikhailovich Dostoevsky, who visited London in the summer of 1862 and saw the Crystal Palace with his own eyes, describes the amazing event:

Yes, the exhibition is amazing. You feel the terrible power that united all these countless people here who came from all over the world into a single herd; you are aware of a gigantic thought, you feel that something has already been achieved here, that there is a victory of triumph here. You even seem to begin to be afraid of something. No matter how independent you are, for some reason you feel scared. “Isn’t this, in fact, an achieved ideal? - you think. - Isn't this the end? Isn’t this, in fact, “one herd?” Won’t you really have to accept this as the complete truth and become completely numb?” All this is so solemn, victorious and proud that your spirit begins to oppress. You look at these hundreds of thousands and these millions of people, obediently flowing here from all over the earthly world, people who came with one thought, quietly, stubbornly and silently crowding into this colossal palace, and you feel that something final has happened here, done and over. This is some kind of biblical picture, something about Babylon, some kind of prophecy from the Apocalypse, being fulfilled with your own eyes.

The success of the exhibition is evidenced by the fact that already on the first day of work The Times, usually a sensible and balanced newspaper , could not restrain herself and released a satirical article describing the unprecedented event:

“Never before in the memory of mankind have so many people gathered in one place. Great battles and migrations of peoples cannot be compared with the army that crowded the streets of London on May 1...” The newspapermen could not help but mention the main exhibit, even if only metaphorically for now, because until that moment only a few had seen the diamond: “... a flaming arch made of transparent glass with a red-hot sun blazing on the polished edges and walls, like Kohinoor itself.”

The public, eager to see everything on the first day, began to gather before sunrise. And by breakfast the queues had turned into a crowd. All the streets surrounding Hyde Park were crowded with Londoners. Thousands of people were waiting for their opportunity to enter the Crystal Palace, although the opening was scheduled for noon. The newspapermen sneered: “If you, as a civilized person, rush to the Strand or Holborn at eight in the morning with the intention of attending this show, seeing from afar what is happening, you will be forced to turn back from the mere thought that it is useless to go where the whole world has gathered before you.”

The aristocrats were informed that the queen would be visiting the exhibition, and they appeared in their best clothes, but were forced to leave their carriages and carriages in the adjacent streets and stand in line with the commoners.

Towards noon, the rays of the sun broke through the London drizzle and eternal clouds, and, as if timing the moment, the trumpet cries of the royal guards were heard from afar: “God save the Queen!” The Scots Guards mercilessly pushed the crowd aside, and the royal carriage drove up to the very doors of the Crystal Palace. “Overwhelmed with emotions,” Victoria came out and, without hesitation, declared the exhibition open.

As soon as the announcement was made, even the reinforced police cordon could not contain the first wave of visitors. The most impatient ones rushed forward, wanting to see the wonderful diamond. The gem was placed in a glass safe with the highest degree of protection available at that time. It lay on a velvet cushion inside a glass cube, behind the bars of a golden grille, a reminder that the British Empire could take any jewel in any part globe, like personal property, and demonstrate power in their capital.

By the end of the first exhibition day, it became clear that something was wrong with the stone. The dissatisfaction of visitors who managed to get through and look at the exhibit was best expressed by the Illustrated London News:

“Diamonds are, as a rule, colorless stones, and the best of them are completely free from blemishes or defects and resemble drops clean water. Kohinoor is not at all suitable for illustrating purity and splendor and will therefore disappoint many who are so eager to see it.”

The stone looked unsightly in its gilded cage. Visitors saw bright lattice bars, dark velvet, and instead of a diamond - only yellowish spots. The gloomy London weather did not seem to want to please the visitors, and if the sun's rays nevertheless penetrated inside the Crystal Palace, then behind the shine of the golden bars of the lattice and velvet fabric, the gem became completely invisible. Concerned by the rumors, Prince Albert immediately ordered gas lamps to be placed inside the cage so that the stone could at least be seen.

Negative reviews continued to multiply, rumors spread throughout the city, and His Royal Highness ordered the construction of a separate room for Kohinoor. On June 14, the new exhibition was presented to the public, the opening of which was attended by Queen Victoria, Prince Albert and their two eldest sons. The diamond was now placed in a separate room made of wooden panels, blocking the natural light that entered the Crystal Palace through the glass roof. Numerous gas lamps and mirrors, located at a certain angle, represented the gem the best way. The dark red velvet on which it was previously located was replaced by a velvet fabric of such a bright color that reporters differed in their assessment - descriptions ranging from poisonous pink to purple were preserved.

No other exhibit at the exhibition received such close attention from the royal organizers. These efforts were not in vain, the press noted:

One of the most unusual metamorphoses is the change that occurred with the Kohinoor diamond. Doubts as to its value and authenticity and the impossibility of ascertaining its splendor in the full light of day led to the enveloping of the cage and its contents in massive folds of scarlet drapery and the display of its splendor under artificial light. The diamond stood the test perfectly and fully lived up to its characteristics... The difficulties in gaining access to the room in which it is placed are not much less than those encountered by Aladdin during his visit to the diamond garden. All this revives the attraction and charm of the famous jewel.

The excitement around limited access has restored the stone’s seemingly lost aura of mystery. And the newspapers remembered its exotic origin and continued vying with each other to retell legends and rumors about the unusual exhibit.

Additional advertising for Kohinoor was provided by a special security system created by Jeremiah Chubb. Today, few people know the name of the person who invented the modern lock with which most of our apartments are locked - a lever lock, opened with a key with teeth and grooves. This design was incredibly popular in the second half of the 19th century, when it was believed that, unlike others, it could not be opened. So, at least, Sherlock Holmes thinks: Arthur Conan Doyle in his stories mentions Chubb's castle as one that is “impossible to break into.”

For the diamond, Jeremiah invented a special safety lock design. It became his best work. The device responded to a simple touch to the inner glass cube - the gem instantly disappeared into a secret compartment inside a wooden stand and slipped through a special channel into a safe built somewhere deep underground.

When the first enthusiastic impressions wore off, the public began to show dissatisfaction again. Gas lamps burning oxygen in an isolated room, an endless stream of visitors and heavy fabric turned the place where the diamond was exhibited into a bathhouse. With enviable regularity, those who wanted to see the treasure fainted, and the press, like a small child torn by opposing desires, again attacked Kohinoor:

It seems that in this gemstone there is something contradictory: the more he shines, the less inclined he is to show off his splendor. Those who were tempted to test the stifling heat of the Diamond Cave on Saturday with a temperature of 83 or 84 (about 28-29 degrees Celsius) were by no means satisfied with its appearance...

When the exhibition closed on October 11, everyone seemed to breathe a sigh of relief, and the newspapers wrote more about the difficulties of the policemen on duty at the Kohinoor cage, forced to endure endless trials. Diamond, freed from humiliating public attention, finally went into storage.

Prince Albert, who was very sensitive to this failure, gathered the best jewelers and scientists and wanted to hear useful advice how to improve appearance stone

As if a verdict was given, physicist Sir David Brewster, known as the “father of modern experimental optics,” inventor of the kaleidoscope and specialist in the field of mineral analysis and the physics of light, delivered his verdict. He stated that there are yellow spots in the center of the Kohinoor, which prevent it from refracting light. This means that the stone should be subjected to a cutting process, as a result of which most of its weight will be lost. But Brewster warned that such an operation could lead to the gem breaking into small crystals.

This proposal was opposed by hereditary jewelers from the respected Garrard family. The Dutch masters present there were among the most famous specialists in their field. They familiarized themselves with Brewster's findings, but assured the prince and queen that, thanks to cutting, they could give the diamond a unique shine and also maintain its size. Albert and Victoria had no doubt who to entrust with the responsible procedure.

A specially equipped workshop was constructed to work on the stone. Steam engines were already built in it, driving grinding machines brought from Holland. Together with the equipment, two of the best cutters arrived in England from Amsterdam.

And a crowd of onlookers gathered around the workshop. For the first week, those curious, like a free patrol, were on duty outside the building, listening to the knocks and humming coming from inside, since the work process itself was not visible. But the jewelers were still just setting up sharpening and grinding machines and racking their brains over the problem of how to make the first cut without crushing the mineral into small crystals, so that Brewster’s “prediction” would not come true.

On July 16, 1852, under heavy security, Kohinoor was taken to the workshop. And the newspapers continued to make fun of the diamond:

The gem, synonymous with the 1851 World's Fair, which last year was attended by many people to look at it, disappointed with its dull shine... did not live up to the expectations of the diamond, nicknamed "Mountain of Light", and the pompous descriptions that had been given to it before, which is why many viewers considered it unfair.

The curiosity of the onlookers was rewarded the next day, July 17, when the “Iron Duke”, Napoleon’s conqueror, Arthur Wellesley, Duke of Wellington, arrived at the workshop. It was the people's favorite who was entrusted with making the first cut on the diamond.

Dutch jewelers, who had been racking their brains for several weeks over how not to crush the stone, finally placed it in a lead shell, leaving only one protruding corner exposed.

Wellington was charged with simply placing the Kohinoor on a grinding wheel rotating at incredible speed. This is how the first cut was made. There was an incredible noise, but the mineral passed the test and remained intact. Having fulfilled his duty, the Duke left the workshop,, amid the frantic shouts of the crowd, jumped on a white horse and quickly rushed away. Despite all his merits, he was a very modest person and shunned public triumphs.

Days passed after days, weeks passed, but the Dutch jewelers continued to conjure the stone. The crowd in front of the workshop gradually melted away, everyone was waiting for the final result. Wellington was not the first victim of the legendary Kohinoor; he did not have time to see the diamond. The “Iron Duke” died on September 14, 1852, and the process of cutting the gem was completed a couple of days after his death - again, not the first coincidence associated with the “curse of the diamond.”

The queen learned about the completion of the stone from an invoice sent to her by members of the Garrard family. They asked for a reward of eight thousand pounds sterling - a very substantial sum at that time, because in terms of modern exchange rates it is more than a million pounds. Victoria paid the bill immediately, there were no problems, but then the time for surprises came.

Despite all the assurances and guarantees of respected jewelers, the size of the diamond has decreased, and quite significantly. It has lost more than half of its previous volume. Originally measured at 190.3 (modern) carats, it was now only 105.6 carats and easily fit in the palm of one hand.

Prince Albert prepared for a “storm of criticism” and was surprised to find that only a few newspapers were noted with dissatisfied muttering, while the public was as if spellbound by the new type of precious stone.

Usually, when cutting, jewelers make thirty-three facets on top and twenty-five at the bottom. The Garrards gave the Kohinoor perfect symmetry - thirty-three sides on top and bottom. The shine of the diamond was simply incredible!

It seemed that after such an operation all the failures were over, the curse of the stone was lifted. In no time, Kohinoor became an incredibly popular brand. Ships, houses, pets and racehorses were named after him. An echo of this popularity has reached the present day - a company was founded that produced pencils of special diamond hardness, which, according to advertisements, brought good luck to their owners during exams. We still buy pencils from this company without thinking that they bear the name of the legendary diamond.

While in England Kohinoor was taking on a new, ideal form, in India there remained a child whose soul seemed to be forever connected by an invisible thread with this diamond - which was manifested in all the events of his life. He was a formal captive of the English crown, but in fact became the favorite of the British queen and one of the most exotic and brilliant representatives of the royal court. When Kohinoor was deprived of weight, the Indian prince - according to the teachings of his Christian pupils - was converted to Christianity. Kohinoor changed his appearance, and Prince Duleep abandoned everything Indian, acquiring a new appearance - an English gentleman. He was taught European manners and instilled in British values. As a result, he accepted the Christian faith and renounced his throne, country, faith and people. And finally, he asked to come to the UK as if it were not a whim, but a vital necessity. But, despite the excellent possession English language, impeccable manners, Maharaja Duleep Singh failed to become a real Englishman, the ideal embodiment of the idea of ​​​​the superiority of British culture over others. The motives for his inexplicable desire to get to Great Britain and his willingness to do everything imaginable and unthinkable for this, to overcome any obstacles, became clear only later, when he asked “his queen” to return Kohinoor to him. The prince could not bear the separation from the diamond tied to his bicep. early childhood, and the owner of which he was from birth, having received the gem from his father.

Civilized England did not immediately believe in the magical power of the crystal. At first, the stone only gained the status of the most famous diamond in the world. Journalists forgot that at that time there were at least two other diamonds of comparable size in the world - the Derianur, or “Sea of ​​Light”, today located in Tehran, and the “Great Mogul”, which, according to most, is identical to the diamond “ Orlov”, presented to Catherine II and crowning the scepter of the Russian emperors.

Along with the attraction that Kohinoor had on those around him, negative features associated with the curse began to appear, namely: mysterious and inexplicable events began to occur, for which a rational explanation was found for a while, but, lined up in a chain, they all indicated that “Mountain of Light” is not just a jewel. It seemed that Kohinoor was able to influence the destinies and control the lives of people who touched him. Maybe this is why Queen Elizabeth II prefers not to pick up a gem and wears a crown with a diamond only once a decade, fearing not so much international scandals as stories about the “curse of the stone.”

In 1855, Queen Victoria announced plans to visit France on a state visit. This was the first visit by an English royal in more than four hundred years. From the moment when the Bourbons were not only overthrown, but subjected to the humiliation of public execution, relations between France and England were not easy.

The situation became even more complicated after France was ruled for eleven years by Napoleon Bonaparte, who over the years transformed from a military dictator into an emperor.

In December 1851, France announced the transition from a republican form of government to a monarchical one. Bonaparte's nephew, Napoleon III, did not hide his love for England, and, contrary to common sense, often made decisions motivated by the desire to please the queen. He and his wife visited London and begged the monarch to visit Paris. In honor of Victoria's arrival, the Palace of Versailles was decorated with such luxury that any Louis would envy. The heir to the British crown decided to take this unprecedented step, trying to support her ally in the Crimean War.

She arrived in Paris on August 18, 1855. 1,200 guests from all over Europe, representing the cream of the aristocracy, were invited to this meeting. The Palace of Versailles was surrounded by a garden in which there were four orchestras, or rather, one gigantic one, divided into four groups. The musicians were hidden from prying eyes behind lush bushes, and they were conducted by the famous Johann Strauss.

Victoria asked her husband to make his own decisions regarding outfits and jewelry. While work meetings were taking place, her business attire did not impress the sophisticated Parisian elite. But at the end of the trip, on the twenty-fifth of August, a big ball was to take place. Here the queen stole the show, and not with her dress: she wore the new crown for the first time.

The white satin dress with gold flowers embroidered on it and a contrasting blue sash draped over the shoulder looked flawless, but it was the tiara that caught everyone's attention. Over the course of twelve months, the royal jewelers assembled a new crown of three thousand small diamonds, carefully arranged to highlight the beauty of the legendary diamond located in front.

The Kohinoor was inserted so that, if necessary, it could be removed and worn as a brooch. Despite the severity royal jewelry, Victoria waltzed with Emperor Napoleon III until the morning.

Six years later, she gave up jewelry forever. After the death of her beloved husband, the monarch never wore ball gowns and brooches. She dressed in black and remained faithful to this habit until death. The only decoration that the widow allowed to be attached to her belt was the Kohinoor.

Victoria believed in the curse of this stone, and therefore after the death of the queen, according to her will, the diamond was inherited not by her son Edward VII, the new emperor of India, but by her daughter-in-law Alexandra. Since then, the British believe that only women can wear the Kohinoor without any consequences.

The magic of “Mountains of Light” is also reflected in fiction. Writers vying with each other rushed to talk about the unprecedented adventures of Indian diamonds. The most famous of them? First, the novel “Lothair” by ex-Prime Minister Benjamin Disraeli, which tells about the amazing adventures of a bag of diamonds purchased from an Indian maharaja. Then “Moonstone” and its many re-covers. Of course, it is obvious that in the chest from Agra, among the jewelry poured into the Thames, there should have been very large diamonds mentioned in “The Sign of Four” by the founder of the detective story, Arthur Conan Doyle. Or in The Diamonds of Eustace, Anthony Trollope does not hide his contempt for Collins's prose, telling a story remarkably similar to the one described by the master of the sensation novel. Robert Louis Stevenson's stories - "The Suicide Club" and "Raja's Diamond", united on the screen in Soviet times under the title "The Adventures of Prince Florizel", are quite obviously inspired not so much by Doyle's works as by Collins' novel.

Today, the “Mountain of Light” is kept in the Tower, and visitors are very surprised by the modest size of the diamond. According to jewelers' estimates, it is currently the 90th largest diamond, but this does not make Kohinoor less famous. Not only the Indian government, but also Pakistan, Iraq, Afghanistan, China and other countries that claim the status of the homeland of “the most famous diamond in the world” still want the famous stone back.

It is surprising that Wilkie Collins makes almost no mention of the diamond in his diaries. He talks about visiting the Crystal Palace in his letter to his mother, but there is not a word about Kohinoor. The magical effect of the crystal appeared in his work much later.

At the time of his encounter with the Great Exhibition, he was an aspiring lawyer with the ambitious dream of becoming a writer.

Articles by other authors about the novel

Moon rock

The first, longest and best of modern English detective stories - this is how Wilkie Collins described the novel Moon rock another classic of English literature, Thomas Eliot. Eliot was a big fan of the English detective story, and with his remark he once again poked in the side the wildly popular stories about Sherlock Holmes, which he considered snobbish and dry. But he was only partly right. The Moonstone is truly the first novel to show the story of the investigation.

Collins bases the plot on the principles developed by Edgar Allan Poe, where suspicion falls on an innocent person, and the detective does not so much investigate a crime as restore injustice to the defenseless. Its main task is to correct the humiliating position of a person suspected of stealing a diamond. The detective drawn by Collins is a brilliant storyteller, and his lines are like pearls that you constantly stumble upon in the stories of Sherlock Holmes, the novels of Agatha Christie, the ironic works of Crispin and in many other detective novels of the 20th century, for example, this spot and the missing diamond are pieces of the same puzzle.

As for the comment about its length, it is unlikely that readers immersed in its atmosphere will want to take away a few pages in order to quickly find out the ending. And today we have already read more novels. Regarding the quality, any categorical assessments (worst or best) should be discarded, since the novel is really good. Therefore, for those who have not yet read, take Eliot's review as a kind of advertisement and a reason to read Moon rock .

Now a few words about the novel. Collins combines two amazing things, the theft of an almost magical moonstone and an absolutely realistic investigation. The author does not try to hide anything from the reader, and therefore all the facts for the investigation are presented in the first ten chapters. But if only it were that simple. Collins again brilliantly uses such a literary device as red herring, focusing his attention on one character or another, and since he is a brilliant storyteller, the story does not let the reader get bored. The brilliant character study fully illustrates the novelist's talent.

The theme of the irrational, which literally lies on top of logical conclusions, is realized very beautifully. The theme of a diamond brought from mysterious India, reacting to moonlight, and therefore remaining inaccessible to rational thinking. The beauty of a diamond echoes the horror it evokes. The brilliance flowing from it was like the radiance of a full moon. When you looked at the stone, its golden depth drew your eyes towards it so that you could not see anything else. Its depth seemed immeasurable; this stone, which you could hold between your thumb and forefinger, seemed bottomless, like the sky itself. At first he lay in the sun; then we closed the shutters and it shone in the darkness with its own moonlight. At the same time, Collins immediately sets out strictly scientific facts. Simple coal- this is what one of the heroes says (today, of course, we will laugh at this simple explanation).

Collins's novel stands proudly alone, since a lot of time passed between the time the novel was written and the beginning of the detective boom. Despite good sales, critics were unwilling to give the author enthusiastic reviews. But time has corrected this mistake...

First detective

Inspired by illness and gloomy reflections on the ideas and circumstances surrounding him, Wilkie Collins' new novel Armadale tired not only readers, but also the author himself with the hopelessness of his images. And yet, having briefly recovered from another attack of the illness that tormented him, Collins was already beginning a new novel, internationally recognized today as his best creation. In the spring of 1867, he completed a sketch plan for the Moonstone. Having become acquainted with this plan, Dickens wrote to his co-editor Wills: It has been written with extraordinary care, and the book has every prospect of being a great success. In many ways the best thing he had ever planned. In 1868, the novel was published as a separate edition. The content of the main intrigue comes down to the circumstances under which the diamond bequeathed by John Herncastle to his niece (Rachel Verinder) that he had once stolen in India disappeared and how then the search for the culprit of the theft, committed under strange and mysterious circumstances, took place. The emergence of the constructive motif of the Moonstone - the motif of the yellow diamond stolen during the storming of Seringapatam, which adorned the brow of the Indian god of the Moon, as well as the legend about the fate that awaits anyone who encroaches on this Buddhist shrine - should be dated back to 1857. Having invited Collins to write about the Great Mutiny, Dickens at that time interested his friend in the history and legends of India. Ten years later, thinking of starting a new novel, Willkie returned to the Indian materials he had and enriched them with new ones. At the same time, he became interested in the working methods of the then famous English detective Whicher. In the novel, Moonstone Whicher became the model for the character of Cuff. Subsequently, he became the image of Sherlock Holmes and all the numerous offspring of this popular literary hero. This was the basis on which Collins began to weave a complex and masterfully constructed detective story. Much has been said by various critics that in The Moonstone the reader seems to be present at the birth of the modern detective novel - a genre that is extremely popular these days. It is indisputable that the Moonstone is not only a classic example of this genre, but also the work from which it took its origin in modern times. About how brilliantly the intrigue is constructed, how skillfully Collins used the technique of illuminating the topic with the testimony of various persons, with what ease the author ensures that the mystery of the crime remains unclear until the very last pages of the book, it is hardly necessary to talk today: quite a lot has already been said about this and convincingly. But to talk about The Moonstone only as a detective story is to unforgivably impoverish a wonderful work of realistic art.

Collins characters

As in all of our best books, Collins sculpted many prominent and highly vivid realistic characters, as in all his books, looking deeply into the psychology of his characters, without pressure and very subtly showing the direct connection of this psychology with the social class with which one or another of his characters is associated dramatic story, social circumstances that shaped this or that character. After the twists and turns of the plot told by different persons- witnesses of what happened and what happened after the disappearance of the diamond - are already erased from memory, the participants in the dramatic events remain to live - not gray dummies or walking diagrams, but full-blooded, subtly individualized and finely outlined people. This is, perhaps, first of all the butler Betteredge, shown in all the originality of his curious personality, but with the traits characteristic of an old English servant of an ancient family, brought up to respect titles and blood. The beauty of his speech is individual, his approach to people is individual, his manner of carrying himself is individual and, finally, in all cases of life he seeks support and help in Robinson Crusoe, who contains for him much more wisdom than the traditional Bible. This old man, who grew up in the ideas and principles of the ancient traditions of serving the landowners and at the same time full of unspeakable nobility and self-esteem, is Collins’s greatest success as an artist. But Betteredge is not the only success in this wonderful novel. Detective Cuff, who sees right through people and amazes everyone with his extraordinary powers of observation, is also interesting in other ways: he is ready to talk for hours with rose lovers about different varieties and methods of growing them, and after retiring, he gives in to his passion as a gardener. Old Maid Clack (niece of Sir John Verinder), ready to enlighten everyone and everywhere with the light of the Gospel, regardless of place and time, and strictly monitoring the morality of her neighbor even on the threshold of his death... A deeply decent lawyer Breff with traits of eccentricity... Lady Verinder's maid Rosanna with her dark past and a tragic secret attachment to Franklin Black... The fisherman's daughter is a cripple, devoted to Roseanne to the point of self-forgetfulness... The Verinders' sweet and slippery cousin Godfrey Ablewhite is the sweet-tongued patron of charitable ladies... Some characters in the novel are designed in tragic tones (Roseanne), others are written with gentle humor (Betteredge), others are comedic, even almost grotesque (Clack). The main characters of the dramatic plot - Lady Verinder, her daughter Rachel and lovers Rach and Black - are perhaps the least striking in this book, rich in images. The completeness of the characters in The Moonstone is indisputable proof that the novel was written by a genuine high-class artist.

Quicksand

The atmosphere, which Collins was a master at creating, is less gloomy in The Moonstone than in the novels The Woman in White, No Name, and even more so in Armadale. Dark, ominous colors, meaningful descriptions and allusions appear mainly where the author draws the coastal quicksand in which the unfortunate Rosanna dies. The description of these quicksands, sighing like a living creature, ominous and inexorable like rock, is impossible to forget or not notice.

The son of an artist and a connoisseur of painting himself, Collins early discovered a brilliant gift for creating landscapes, especially landscapes rich in mood, most often conveying tension and anxiety. Collins returns repeatedly in Moonstone to the quicksand, until its shifting and terrifying image lives up to foreboding by consuming Rosanna Spearman.

The description of this terrible cemetery, which has swallowed up more than one unfortunate girl, is permeated with an atmosphere of horror and darkness. Where we are talking about Roseanne, a former thief who tragically fell in love with a young aristocrat and convinced herself that she possesses his secret, the motives of melodrama inherent in Collins’ style are quite strong. But at the same time, the image of Roseanne is the author’s success in creating a psychologically deep image. Collins, without any sensational pressure, shows the inevitability of Roseanne's death when her dreams are not realized. She is fatally heading towards her death, destined not by Providence, but by the logic of the current situation.

The musical keys in the novel are constantly changing, and this is its special charm. Tragedy meets comedy, the dramatic episode associated with Roseanne Spearman alternates with London episodes with their diversity of figures, moods, emotions and positions. Thus, the sad episode of Lady Verinder's death is relieved by comic interludes appeals her prude Klak, scattering soul-saving brochures designed to reverse Lady Verinder on her deathbed. The confusion and disorientation of Franklin Black, the long-incomprehensible rage of Rachel Verinder, who does not want to hear about Franklin after the disappearance of the diamond, are balanced by the captivating harmony of Betteredge, supported by the philosophical wisdom of Robinson Crusoe, note, wisdom that combines the empirical rationalism and the Puritan belief in Providence.

IN Moonstone, despite its emphatically detective plot, there are no villains like Sir Glyde or Count Fosco. Godfrey Ablewhite, who stole the diamond and was ultimately overtaken by the revenge of the Hindus, is anything but the villain of a melodrama or a Gothic novel. This favorite of pious old women and spinsters is completely false and hypocritical, but there is nothing theatrical about him. The offense he committed was convincingly explained by the hopeless situation young man at the time of the theft.

For all its fable Moon rock balanced by a strong humorous and no less strong moral descriptive tendency. This novel, exciting with an unsolved mystery and complicated by side episodes, is at the same time a brilliant chronicle of the customs of ordinary life.

Have you been to Moonstone a social theme that resonates powerfully in the writer’s previous great novels? If they exist, they are muted and less obvious, since the emphasis falls more on the study of the psychology of the characters than on the analysis of social causes and consequences. But on the other hand, there is no reason to talk about the author’s reconciliation with modern society. Some ironic remarks and reflections on free the homeland of Franklin Black, constantly fleeing the stuffiness of English society abroad, they say that Wilkie Collins did not change his critical attitude towards the country of bourgeois prosperity.

Without exaggerating the autobiographical nature of the last episode in the novel, where Ezra Jennings, a sick drug addict doctor, first appears, and it becomes clear ordinary the circumstances surrounding the disappearance of the diamond from Rachel Verinder's chambers cannot, however, be discounted personal experience Collins, associated with the varied effects of opium. But something else is interesting here. Collins for the first time in English prose and very boldly approached Moonstone to depict what is happening in the subconscious. It is in this regard that the question is raised about where individuality begins and ends and what is the measure of responsibility of a person exposed to drugs.

Moon rock can be read as sensational novel, and most readers perceive it that way, not noticing the problems posed by the author. What are the limits of the individual and thus what are the limits of his moral responsibility? The problem that psychologists of our day are pondering and solving in different ways could only have been posed in the 60s of the last century.

The basis of Collins's method, which built recognition through the testimony of people familiar with only part of the truth, is a comparison of what exists in reality and how it is refracted in people's minds on the basis of deceptive appearances (even the great Cuff makes a mistake here, suspecting Rachel Verinder in the theft of a diamond belonging to her!).

One can agree with those researchers who consider Moon rock as a work in which the detective genre was born. But we can't stop there. Like Collins's previous great novels, he is not only a detective story or an action film, not only a model sensational novel of the corresponding school: Moon rock has every right to be considered one of the best realistic works of its time.

The largest and most significant of Collins's novels, Moon rock was also the last of large the writer's works. Everything the author wrote Moonstone in the last two decades of his life, cannot be compared with Moonstone, neither with The woman in white, with none of the novels of the 60s, written during the heyday of his work.

Moon rock captivates with the sharpness and dynamism of the plot. The reader is concerned about the long unresolved problem of the mystery of the disappearance of the diamond...

But the novel, having all the features of a superbly constructed detective story and plot works cannot but captivate others: this is a subtle depiction of living people, a wonderful reproduction of realistic portraits, a deep penetration into the secrets of human psychology. In addition, you cannot forget for a minute about what time and in what country the events take place.

Objectively assessing Collins' legacy today, it is necessary to put an end to various prejudices against this writer. An analysis of Collins's best works shows that, having seen much of what his older contemporaries saw and each showed in their own way, Collins often looked at things with new eyes. Born only 12 years later than Dickens and 13 years later than Thackeray, he nevertheless belonged to a different generation and anticipated the coming 20th century in many of the motifs of his work.

England has always been famous for its literary wealth, and the detective genre in British literature was no exception. Everyone knows the great names of Agatha Christie and Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. True lovers of detective stories still relish the works of Edgar Allan Poe, although they were not particularly outstanding in volume. But it is Wilkie Collins who must be considered the real progenitor of the detective genre in England, because it was this writer who was the first to use those techniques in literature that later became fundamental for the entire genre.

Thus, the structure proposed in the book “The Moonstone” is still considered almost the standard for detective novels. It consists of the following stages:

1. At the beginning of the work, a murder (or other serious crime) occurs, most often in a secluded place where there is no access for a large circle of people. An example would be Agatha Christie's Orient Express. In the case of The Moonstone, the setting was the residence of Lady Verinder.
2. Also at the beginning of the story, a narrow circle of people involved in the incident is introduced. As a rule, one of these persons is the criminal, whom it was initially extremely difficult to suspect. I think it’s not worth mentioning the name of the criminal, so as not to spoil the expectations of those who are just planning to read the book.
3. The work also features the figure of a detective, endowed with a mind of extreme observation and ingenuity. A similar image of detectives and police officers is used in almost all classic detective stories: Sherlock Holmes, Hercule Poirot, Columbo, etc. In the work “The Moonstone,” detective Cuff became one, who could probably serve as a prototype for all the voiced inspectors.
4. An ornate plot, in which the investigation goes in the wrong direction several times, but ultimately leads to a logical conclusion.

What is this book about

The Moonstone is considered by many to be perhaps the first detective novel (Poe also wrote in a similar style, but it should be noted that he wrote mostly short stories). History consists of a whole series of stories from different characters, united by one adjacent line. Thus, the author withdraws himself from the novel and allows each character to individually express his point of view and his vision of what happened, and the reader, page by page, can conduct his “own investigation” and compare his expectations with what is happening in the book.

As you probably already guessed, the plot of the novel centers on the disappearance of a precious stone, which was stolen during the celebration of an aristocratic British family. A professional detective was hired to investigate the cases, but the series of plot twists and turns is so dizzying that even he does not immediately manage to unravel this mystery. However, I will not reveal all my cards and kill the intrigue.

I just want to point out one feature. The book begins with quite “cheerful” events and almost immediately plunges the reader into the whirlwind of a detective investigation, but already in the middle of the book one gets the impression that the author himself could not maintain the chosen pace, and in his narrative the lethargy and confusion of the overall structure of the story begins to be observed. It would seem that the writer so famously stirred up interest in the disappearance of the diamond at the beginning of the work, and in the middle of the novel he simply did not know what to write next. Fortunately, there is a completely reasonable explanation for all this towards the end of the work, and all the little things and details that initially had nothing to do with the matter (at first glance) actually relate to it in the most direct way.

It is worth noting that the final part of the novel is of particular interest, since the active investigation into the theft of the diamond is resumed, but it is no longer conducted by a professional detective, but by an ordinary gentleman who wants to restore his reputation at all costs.

But how skillfully Collins managed to end the chapters of his novel on the highest note - that is, on the most intriguing moment. For reference, the original novel was first published in the monthly newspaper of Collins's friend, Charles Dickens. Each issue featured a new chapter, and readers had to wait another month to read the long-awaited sequel. I'm sure you know this feeling! Just remember how you watched the last episode of “Games of Thrones” and realized that you would have to wait a whole year, or even more, until the next release of this series. Luckily, things are different with books!

Translated according to the edition:

Collins W. The Moonstone: A Novel / Wilkie Collins

© Hemiro Ltd, Russian edition, 2015

© Book Club “Family Leisure Club”, translation and artwork, 2015

* * *

Prologue
Assault on Seringapatam (1799)
From the family archive

I

These lines - written in India - I address to my relatives in England.

My task is to explain the reason that made me refuse to shake hands with my cousin John Herncastle. The silence on this matter which I have maintained hitherto has been misunderstood by members of my family, whose good opinion I cannot neglect. I ask them to hold off on their conclusions and read my story first. And, word of honor, everything I’m going to write is the holy, true truth.

The personal differences between my cousin and myself arose during a great public event in which we were both involved—I speak of the storming of Seringapatam under the command of General Baird on May 4, 1799.

To make it quite clear under what circumstances this happened, I must go back briefly to the past, before the assault began, to recall the stories that circulated around our camp related to the treasures of precious stones and gold that were kept in the Seringapatam palace.

II

One of the most incredible stories associated with the yellow diamond, a famous stone mentioned in Indian chronicles and legends. The oldest known legend says that this stone adorned the forehead of the Indian four-armed god - the incarnation of the Moon. Partly because of its unusual color, partly due to the belief that it had the ability to be influenced by the deity who wore it, that is, to increase and decrease the brightness of the radiance with the waxing and waning of the moon, it received the name that is known in India to this day - Moonstone. A similar belief, as far as I know, existed in ancient Greece and ancient Rome, but it did not refer to a diamond used to serve a deity, but to a translucent stone of a lower order, which was supposed to be susceptible to lunar influence and also received its name from the Moon, and by this name the stone is known to collectors in our time.

The adventures of the yellow diamond begin in the eleventh century according to the Christian calendar.

At that time, the Mohammedan conqueror Mahmud of Ghazni crossed India, captured the holy city of Somnath and plundered the famous temple, one of the wonders of the East, which had attracted pilgrims for centuries.

Of all the gods worshiped in this temple, only the Moon God escaped the greedy hands of the Mohammedan conquerors. Three Brahmins saved the undefiled deity with a yellow diamond on his forehead: under the cover of darkness they carried him out and transported him to another sacred Indian city, Benares.

Here, in a hall decorated with precious stones, under a roof resting on golden columns, the moon god was installed and again became an object of worship.

That same night, Vishnu the preserver appeared in a dream to the Brahmins.

He fanned the diamond on the god’s forehead with his divine breath, and the Brahmins fell on their faces, covering their faces with robes. Vishnu ordered them to protect the Moonstone. From now on, three priests were to watch the stone in turns, day and night, until the human race disappeared. The Brahmins heard and bowed to his will. The deity predicted trouble for any unceremonious mortal who touched the sacred stone, his entire house and everyone who received the stone from him. And the Brahmins inscribed this prophecy in golden letters on the gate of the temple.

Centuries passed, century followed century, but the followers of the three Brahmins, generation after generation, continued to guard the priceless Moonstone day and night. This continued until the eighteenth century according to Christian chronology arrived. By the will of Aurangzeb, the ruler of the Mughal Empire, the temples of Brahma's worshipers were again subjected to plunder and destruction. The sanctuary of the four-armed god was desecrated by the killing of sacrificial animals, the faces of the deities were broken, and the Moonstone was stolen by one of the commanders of Aurangzeb's army.

Unable to return the lost shrine by force, the three guardian priests followed it in secret. One generation was replaced by another; the warrior who committed sacrilege suffered a terrible death; The moonstone, carrying a curse, passed from one illegal owner to another, but the successors of the three priests, despite all the accidents and changes, continued to monitor it, waiting for the day when the will of Vishnu the Preserver would return the sacred treasure to them. Time rushed from the first to the last years of the eighteenth century according to Christian chronology. The diamond came into the possession of Tippu, the Sultan of Seringapatam, who ordered it to be embedded in the hilt of a dagger and kept among the most precious treasures of his armory. But even there, in the Sultan’s palace, the priests continued to secretly monitor the shrine. Among Tippu's courtiers there were three foreigners who gained the confidence of the ruler by accepting (or pretending to accept) the Mohammedan faith. It is believed that these were the three priests.

III

Such a fascinating story of the Moonstone was told in our camp. No one took it seriously except my cousin, whose love of the unusual led him to believe it was true. On the night before the assault on Seringapatam, he became most absurdly angry with me and others for calling this story a fairy tale. A most foolish argument ensued, and Herncastle's unhappy character made him promise, with his characteristic boastfulness, that we should see the sacred diamond on his finger if the English army captured Seringapatam. This outburst of bragging was met with a burst of laughter, which, as we all then believed, was the end of the matter.

Now I will take you to the day of the assault. At the very beginning, my cousin and I were separated. I did not see him when we forded the river, when we planted the English flag at the first breach, when we crossed the ditch and, fighting for every inch, entered the city. Only at sunset, when the city became ours and General Baird found Tippu's dead body under a mountain of corpses, did I meet Herncastle again.

We were both included in a detachment assembled by order of the general to suppress the looting and riots that began immediately after our capture of the city. Our soldiers committed disgusting outrages and, worse than that, found the entrance to the palace treasury and plundered gold and gems. In the courtyard of the treasury, my cousin and I met to restore discipline in the ranks of our own soldiers. I saw clearly that the slaughter we had passed through had inflamed Herncastle's fiery character almost to the point of madness, and I believed that he was unfit for the task entrusted to him.

Confusion and riots reigned in the treasury, but I did not see any violence. People, so to speak, covered themselves with shame cheerfully. Crude jokes and witticisms rained down from all sides, and suddenly the story connected with the diamond resurfaced in the form of mischievous tomfoolery. “Who has the Moonstone?” “This mocking cry caused the robbery, which had subsided in one place, to flare up in another. Trying in vain to restore order, I suddenly heard a terrifying scream at the other end of the yard and immediately rushed there, fearing that a new outbreak of looting had begun there.

I ran to the open door - two dead Hindus lay in front of it (from their clothes I realized that these were palace officers).

In response to the scream coming from inside, I rushed into the room, which turned out to be the armory. The third Hindu, mortally wounded, sank to the floor in front of the man standing with his back to me. As soon as I entered, the man turned around, and I saw John Herncastle with a torch in one hand and a dagger dripping blood in the other. As he turned, the stone set into the hilt of the dagger sparkled in the torch's glare like a spark. The dying Indian lying at his feet pointed to the dagger in Herncastle's hand and said in his own language: “The curse of the Moonstone will overtake you and your descendants.” Having uttered these words, he died.

Before I had time to intervene, people burst into the room and ran after me across the yard. The cousin rushed at them like a madman. “Get them out of here! - he shouted to me. “Put a sentry at the door.” The soldiers retreated as he rushed at them with a torch and dagger. I assigned two warriors from my detachment to guard the door, on whom I could rely, and for the rest of the night I did not see my cousin.

The looting continued until the morning, when General Baird, to the beat of a drum, announced that every soldier found looting, no matter who he was, would be hanged. To confirm the seriousness of the general's intentions, the chief of military police was present when the decision was announced. In the crowd listening to the order, I met Herncastle again.

As if nothing had happened, he extended his hand to me and said:

- Good morning.

Before shaking his hand, I asked:

- First, tell me how that Indian met death in the armory and what his last words meant.

“The Indian, I think, died of a mortal wound,” answered Herncastle. “I know no more than you do what his last words meant.”

I looked at him carefully. The madness of yesterday had subsided, and I decided to give him a chance to justify himself.

– Is that all you can say? – I asked.

He replied:

I turned away from him and we haven't spoken since then.

IV

I want to make it clear that what I write about my cousin (unless, of course, there is any need to make these records public) is intended solely to notify our family. Herncastle said nothing that I should have reported to our commander. Those who have not forgotten his outburst before the assault often laugh at him because of the diamond, but, obviously, remembering the circumstances of our meeting in the armory, he does not answer them. Rumor has it that he wants to transfer to another regiment, and I have no doubt that he will do this to distance himself from me.

Whether this is true or not, I cannot be his accuser, and there are good reasons for this. If I make this case public, I will have no evidence other than moral ones. Not only can I not prove that it was he who killed the two Indians at the door, but I cannot even call him guilty of killing the third person inside, because I did not see with my own eyes how he did it. Yes, I heard the words of a dying Hindu, but if these words were caused by dying delirium, how can I dispute such an explanation? Let our relatives on both sides form their own opinion about what I have stated, and decide for themselves whether the hostility that I now feel towards this man is justified.

Although I do not believe the fantastic Indian legend about this gem, before I conclude, I must admit that I have developed my own superstitions on this matter. The crime itself condemns the criminal to punishment - this is my belief or delusion - it doesn’t matter. Not only do I have no doubt that Herncastle is guilty, but I am also sure that he will regret it if he keeps the diamond, and that others will regret taking it from him if he decides to part with the Moonstone.

Part one
The Missing Diamond (1848)
Events narrated by Gabriel Betteredge, Julia's butler, Lady Verinder

Chapter I

In the first part of Robinson Crusoe, on page one hundred and twenty-nine, you will find the following words: “Now I realized, although too late, that it was impossible to begin work without calculating its costs and without assessing my own strength.” Just yesterday I opened Robinson Crusoe in this very place. And already this morning (May 21, 1850) my hostess’s nephew arrived, a short conversation with whom I quote verbatim.

“Betteredge,” said Mr. Franklin, “I met with a family lawyer, and among other things we talked about the disappearance of an Indian diamond from my aunt’s house two years ago.” Mr. Braff believes, and I agree with him, that in the interests of truth this story must be put down on paper, and the sooner the better.

Not yet understanding what he wanted, and believing that for the sake of peace and quiet it was better to always be on the side of the lawyer, I assured him that I thought so too, and Mr. Franklin continued:

“Several innocent people have already, as you know, come under suspicion,” he said. “And due to the fact that the facts are not recorded on paper, which, perhaps, those who come after us will want to turn to, the memory of the innocent may suffer.” No, this strange one of ours family history definitely needs to be told, and I think, Betteredge, Mr. Braff and I have figured out the best way to do it.

Well, that's very commendable, but I still didn't understand what it had to do with me.

“We need to recount certain events,” Mr. Franklin continued. – And there are interested people who are able to present them. From here we came up with the idea of ​​writing the history of the Moonstone one at a time, each person would describe only those events in which he himself participated, no more. We must begin with how the diamond first came into the hands of my uncle Herncastle, when he was serving in India fifty years ago. I already have this introduction in the form of an old family document, in which all the necessary details are described on behalf of a direct witness. Next, I need to point out how the diamond came to my aunt in Yorkshire two years ago and how it disappeared twelve hours later. No one knows better than you, Betteredge, what was going on in the house at that time. So pick up a pen and sit down to write.

So I was told what the diamond had to do with me. If you are curious to know how I acted under these circumstances, I hasten to inform you that I acted as you probably would have acted in my place. I modestly declared that I was not suited for such a task, although in my heart I felt that I could easily cope with it if I gave myself free rein. Mr. Franklin must have read my thoughts from my face. He did not believe in my modesty and insisted that I give myself free rein.

Two hours had passed since Mr. Franklin left. As soon as he turned his back to me, I headed to the desk to get to work. Here I have been sitting helplessly since then (despite the fact that I gave myself free rein), convinced that I understood, as mentioned above, Robinson Crusoe, namely: you should not take on a job without calculating its costs and without assessing your own strengths . Please remember that I opened the book precisely at this passage, quite by accident, the day before I so recklessly took up the work in which I am now engaged, and let me ask: is this not a prediction?

I'm not superstitious. In my time I read a lot of books, I can even be called a scientist in some way. I'm seventy, but I have a strong memory, and my legs. Therefore, do not consider me ignorant when I express my opinion about Robinson Crusoe. No book equal to it was written before it and never will be written after it. I kept coming back to it for years (mostly in combination with a good pipe of tobacco) and it became my good friend in all the difficulties of this earthly vale. When I have Bad mood- "Robinson Crusoe". When I need advice - Robinson Crusoe. Previously, when my wife tormented me, and now, when I allow myself a little extra, “Robinson Crusoe.” I read through the six “Robinson Crusoe” books that served me faithfully. On my owner's last birthday, she gave me the seventh. To celebrate, I allowed myself a little extra, and “Robinson Crusoe” again set me on the right path. Price four shillings and sixpence, blue cover and picture to boot.

But this doesn't really sound like the beginning of a story about a diamond, does it? I seem to be wandering off in search of God knows what. If you allow, let's take a new sheet of paper and start again, with my deepest respect to you.

Chapter II

A couple of lines ago I mentioned my mistress. So, the diamond would never have come into our house, where it disappeared, if it had not been given to the owner’s daughter, and the owner’s daughter would never have existed if the owner, with pain and difficulty, had not brought her into the world. Consequently, if you start with the hostess, you will have to go back quite far into the past.

If you know anything about high society, you've probably heard about the three beauties of Herncastle: Miss Adelaide, Miss Caroline and Miss Julia. The last of them is the youngest and most beautiful of the sisters, in my opinion, and I had the opportunity to form my own opinion on this matter, as you will soon see. I entered the service of the old lord, their father (thank God, although he has nothing to do with this diamond - I have never met a more talkative and hot-tempered man in my life). So, at the age of fifteen, I entered the service of the old lord as a page, to wait on three noble young ladies. I lived there until Miss Julia married the late Sir John Verinder. He was a wonderful man who just wanted someone to control him, and, between you and me, he got it. Moreover, he rejoiced at this, prospered and lived happily from the day when my mistress took him to church to get married, until the day when she escorted him into the other world and closed his eyes forever.

I forgot to mention that, together with the newlywed, I settled in the house and estate of her husband.

“Sir John,” she said, “I cannot live without Gabriel Betteredge.”

“My lady,” he answered, “I also can’t live without him.”

That’s how he always answered her, and that’s how I ended up in his service. I didn’t care where to go, as long as I stayed with the hostess.

Seeing that she was interested in farming, farms and the like, I also became interested in them, and not least because I myself was the seventh son of a small farmer. Milady appointed me assistant manager of the estate, I tried my best, did not disappoint the owners and received a promotion. Several years later, I think it was on Monday, my lady says:

- Sir John, your manager is an old fool. Give him a generous pension and appoint Gabriel Betteredge in his place.

Probably on Tuesday Sir John says:

“My lady, my steward has received a generous pension, and Gabriel Betteredge now takes his place.”

You often hear stories about unhappy marriages, but here is an example of the opposite. Let this be a warning to some and an encouragement to others. In the meantime, I will continue the story.

Now you will say that I skated like cheese in butter. A good, honorable place, your own cottage, walking around the estate in the morning, counting in the afternoon, Robinson Crusoe and a pipe in the morning - what else is needed for happiness? Remember what Adam desired in the solitude of the Garden of Eden, and if you don’t blame him, then don’t blame me.

I liked the woman who kept house in my cottage. Her name was Selina Gobi. In the matter of choosing a wife, I agree with the late William Cobbett. Make sure she chews her food well and has a firm gait - you can't go wrong. Selina Gobi was endowed with both of these virtues, which was the first reason to marry her. There was a second reason: my own discovery. Unmarried Selina demanded maintenance and a weekly fee for services. Selina, as my wife, could not demand money from me for maintenance, but would provide services for free. That's how I looked at it. Savings and a little love. I explained this to the hostess in the same way as I explained it to myself.

“I’ve been thinking about Selina Gobi,” I said, “and it seems to me, my lady, that it would be cheaper to marry her than to support her.”

Milady laughed and said that she did not know what to be more amazed at: my expressions or my principles. I think she thought it was a joke that you wouldn't understand unless you were a noble person yourself. I myself only understood that now I can go to Selina with this. So I went. What did Selina say? God, how poorly do you know women if you ask! Of course she said yes.

The time for the wedding was approaching, and when they started talking about the fact that I needed a new tailcoat, I began to worry a little. After comparing stories of other men about how they felt when they were in the same position, I discovered that about a week before the wedding, everyone had a secret desire to call it all off. I went a little further and tried to cancel everything. Not just like that, of course! I wasn't stupid enough to think that she would just let me go. If a man cancels everything, he is obliged to reward the woman - this is what English laws say. In obedience to the law and after careful consideration, I offered Selina Gobi a feather bed and fifty shillings to cancel the wedding. You won't believe it, but it's true: she was so stupid that she refused.

Of course, after that it was all over for me. I bought a new tailcoat, the cheapest one, and did everything else just as cheaply. We were not a happy couple and we were not an unhappy couple. We were both equally. I don’t understand how this is possible, but all the time, without meaning to, we went against each other. Let’s say that when I wanted to go up the stairs, my wife definitely had to go down, or when my wife came down, I definitely went to meet her. This is family life, as far as I have come to know it.

After five years of misunderstandings on the stairs, wise providence was pleased to rid us of each other by taking my wife. I was left alone with the child, my little Penelope. Soon after this Sir John died, and my lady was left alone with her little Miss Rachel. It does not matter what I have described to my lady, if you must explain that little Penelope was brought up under the care of my good mistress. She was sent to school, received an education, grew wiser and, when age allowed, became Miss Rachel's maid.

As for me, I continued to act as manager until Christmas, 1847, when a change took place in my life. That day my lady came to my cottage for a cup of tea. She noticed that, if you start counting from the year when I, back in the time of the old lord, joined them as a page, I have been serving with her for more than fifty years, and she handed me a beautiful woolen vest, which she had knitted herself, so that I would not get cold in cold winter weather.

Wilkie COLLINS

MOON ROCK

Assault on Seringapatam (1799)

(Letter from the family archive)I

I am writing these lines from India to my relatives in England to explain why I refused a friendly handshake to my cousin, John Herncastle. My silence on this matter was misinterpreted by members of our family, whose good opinion I do not want to lose. I ask them to postpone their conclusions until they read my story. I give my word of honor that I will write the strict and unconditional truth.

A secret discord between my cousin and myself arose during the great event in which we both participated, the storming of Seringapatam under the command of General Baird on May 4, 1799.

In order that the circumstances may be fully understood, I must refer to the period preceding the siege, and to the stories current in our camp about the precious stones and piles of gold kept in the Seringapatam palace.

II

One of the most incredible stories concerns a yellow diamond - a thing famous in the annals of India.

The oldest legend says that this stone adorned the forehead of the four-armed Indian moon god. Partly because of its special color, partly because of the legend - that this stone is subject to the influence of the deity it adorns and its brilliance increases and decreases with the full moon and with the loss of the moon - it received the name by which it is still known in India - Moonstone . I have heard that a similar superstition once took place both in Ancient Greece and Rome, referring, however, not to a diamond dedicated to a deity (as in India), but to a translucent stone of a lower order, subject to the influence of the moon and in the same way received from It does not have its name, by which it is still known to mineralogists of our time.

The adventures of the yellow diamond begin in the eleventh century of the Christian era.

In that era, the Mohammedan conqueror Mahmud of Ghazni invaded India, captured the holy city of Somnaut and captured the treasures of the famous temple, which had attracted Indian pilgrims for several centuries and was considered a miracle of the East.

Of all the deities worshiped in this temple, only the god Lupa escaped the greed of the Mohammedan victors. Guarded by three Brahmins, the sacred idol with a yellow diamond in its forehead was transported at night to the second most sacred city of India - Benares.

There, in a new temple - in a chamber decorated with precious stones, under arches resting on golden columns, the Moon god was placed, who again became an object of worship. On the night when the temple was completed, Vishnu the creator appeared as if in a dream to three Brahmins. He breathed his breath into the diamond that adorned the idol’s brow, and the Brahmins fell on their knees before him and covered their faces with their clothes. Vishnu commanded that the Moonstone be guarded by three priests day and night until the end of time. The Brahmins bowed to the divine will. Vishnu predicted misfortune to the daring one who dared to take possession of the sacred stone, and to all his descendants to whom the stone would pass after him. The Brahmins ordered this prediction to be written down on the gates of the sanctuary in golden letters.

Century after century passed, and from generation to generation the successors of the three Brahmins guarded the precious Moonstone day and night. Century after century passed until, at the beginning of the eighteenth century of the Christian era, Aurangzeb, the Mongol emperor, reigned. By his order, the temples of Brahma's worshipers were again plundered and destroyed, the temple of the four-armed god was desecrated by the killing of sacred animals, the idols were broken into pieces, and the Moonstone was stolen by one of Aurangzeb's commanders.

Unable to recover their lost treasure by force, three guardian priests watched over it in disguise. One generation gave way to another; the warrior who committed sacrilege died a terrible death; The moonstone passed, bringing with it a curse, from one illegal owner to another, and, despite all the accidents and changes, the successors of the three guardian priests continued to watch over their treasure, waiting for the day when the will of Vishnu the Creator would return their sacred stone. This continued until the last year of the eighteenth century. The diamond came into the possession of Tippu, the Sultan of Seringapatam, who inserted it as an ornament into the hilt of his dagger and kept it among the most precious treasures of his armory. Even then - in the Sultan's palace itself - three guardian priests secretly continued to guard the diamond. In Tippu's retinue were three foreigners who had earned the trust of their ruler by converting (perhaps feignedly) to the Mohammedan faith; According to rumors, these were the priests in disguise.

III

This is how they told the fantastic story of the Moonstone in our camp.

It made no serious impression on any of us except my cousin; his love for the miraculous made him believe this legend. On the night before the assault on Seringapatam, he became most absurdly angry with me and others for calling it a fable. A most stupid argument arose, and Herncastle's unhappy character caused him to lose his temper. With his characteristic boastfulness, he announced that if the English army took Seringapatam, then we would see a diamond on his finger. Loud laughter greeted this trick, and that was the end of the matter, as we all thought.

Now let me take you to the day of the assault.

My cousin and I were separated at the very beginning of the attack. I didn't see him when we crossed the river; did not see him when we hoisted the English banner at the first breach; I did not see him when we crossed the ditch and, conquering every step, entered the city. Only at dusk, when the city was already ours and General Baird himself found Tippu’s corpse under a heap of dead, did I meet with Herncastle.

We were both assigned to a detachment sent, by order of the general, to stop the robberies and riots that followed our victory.

The soldiers indulged in terrible outrages, and, what was even worse, they made their way into the palace storerooms and plundered gold and precious stones. I met my cousin in the courtyard in front of the storerooms, where we had come to introduce discipline among our soldiers. I immediately saw that the ardent Herncastle was extremely excited by the terrible massacre through which we had passed.

In my opinion, he was unable to fulfill his responsibility.

There was a lot of confusion and turmoil in the storerooms, but I had not yet seen any violence.

The soldiers disgraced themselves very cheerfully, so to speak.

Exchanging rude jokes and witticisms, they suddenly remembered, in a sly joke, the story of the diamond. A mocking cry: “Who found the Moonstone?” again caused the robbery that had died down to flare up in another place. While I was trying in vain to restore order, a terrible scream was heard at the other end of the yard, and I immediately ran there, fearing some new outrage.

The very first, longest and best detective novel in English literature. Together with the novel The Woman in White, it is considered Collins's best work.

The novel was first published in Charles Dickens's magazine All the Year Round. The novel is built according to laws that will long become mandatory for classic works of the detective genre. But in addition, Collins gave a realistic picture of Victorian society and painted psychologically accurate portraits of its typical representatives.

Plot

A young girl, Rachel Verinder, according to the will of her uncle, who fought in India, receives on her coming of age a large diamond of extraordinary beauty. Rachel does not know that this diamond is an object of religious cult, stolen from one of the Indian sanctuaries, and three Hindu priests are on its trail. The history of the stone contains elements of the stories of such legendary stones as the Hope Diamond and, possibly, the Eagles.

On the night following Rachel's birthday, the stone disappears from the room next to her bedroom. There is every reason to believe that the diamond was stolen by one of the guests or house servants, and perhaps by Rachel herself.

History of creation

The title of the novel contains the name of a yellow diamond (not an adularia), which supposedly adorned the statue of the Moon god and was supposedly subject to its influence. At first the stone was kept in Somnaut, then, under the guard of three Brahmins who never left it, it was transported along with the statue of the god to Benares. Centuries later, the diamond was stolen, and, passing from hand to hand of illegal owners, brought them misfortune.

The novel contains a number of features that have become attributes of a classic detective story. His artistic models, plot twists, and images would later be adopted by G. K. Chesterton, Conan Doyle, Agatha Christie and other masters of the detective genre:

• The crime takes place in a secluded place;
• The crime was committed by someone from a limited circle of people introduced to the reader at the very beginning of the story, by a person who was above suspicion until a certain moment;
• The investigation is on the wrong track;
• The case is being conducted by a professional investigator;
• He is confronted by a narrow-minded local policeman;
• Motive for the "locked room" murder;
• Scientific reconstruction of a crime in circumstances as close as possible to the events;
• Unexpected ending

The image of detective Cuff from Scotland Yard, a man of ordinary appearance and outstanding abilities, has a real prototype. Dickens published several articles in his magazine about Sergeant Jonathan Whicher, where he called him one of the most outstanding police officers in London. Collins used motives from a real case (the murder of her half-brother by a young girl, Constance Kent), investigated by Whicher, in the novel.

The events are narrated directly by the characters involved.

Characters

• Rachel Verinder is a young girl who is Lady Verinder's only daughter;
• Franklin Black - Rachel's cousin, suitor for her hand; takes an active part in the search for diamonds;
• Godfrey Ablewhite - Rachel's cousin, later engaged to her; lawyer and philanthropist;
• Gabriel Betteredge as Lady Julia Verinder's butler;
• Rosanna Spearman - second servant in Lady Verinder's house, a former thief;
• Inspector Seagrave is a local policeman;
• Detective Cuff is a visiting policeman from London;
• Miss Drusilla Cluck - Rachel's father's niece;
• Matthew Breff, solicitor for the Verinder family;
• Penelope Betteredge, servant, daughter of Gabriel Betteredge