How Does Wilkie Collins Create Tension In The Moonstone

The Moonstone is a mystery that is set in England in the mid-1800s. The author of this novel is Wilkie Collins. He had written quite a few novels yet The Moonstone is his first detective novel, written in 1868. Wilkie Collins can create very complex storylines that are intriguing but they are longer than they need be. The Moonstone uses its elements to create suspense, creating an interesting, yet slow, read.

The plot of The Moonstone consists of suicide, murder, theft, romance, and superstitions. The novel contains the story of the Moonstone diamond, its curse, how it fell into its family’s hands, how and why it was given to Rachel, who stole it, and where it ended up. A quite interesting story, The Moonstone uses suspense intertwined with the plot to keep the audience interested and the story more interesting. Examples of this in the text are displayed when the author allows the narrators to foreshadow. There are many times in the text when this occurs, whenever a narrator says, “...as you will see…,” they are giving you a hint of what is to come. In chapter one, the first narrator says, “We will change the subject, if …show more content…
There are several narrators in this story that each bring a different perspective to the table. A total of 11 narrators are included in this novel, a cousin of John Herncastle, four people who have a connection to Lady Verinder, the main investigator, a traveler to India, and a few more. As there are several sections in the book, each narrator takes control of at least one section. This story is made up of letters, memos, first-person narratives, and journal entries which makes The Moonstone even more unique and each narrator can bring something more to the table. Even though there are 11 narrators in the story, they all imagine themselves to be writing to an unknown future reader, to tell the story for future