Prologue and First Period, pgs. 33-77 Summary

The Moonstone, by Wilke Collins, is an exciting nineteenth century English detective story. The object of everyone's attention is the Moonstone, a beautiful and flawed diamond that was stolen from the statue of a moon good from a shrine in a remote area of India. The theft occurred by a Mohammedan emperor in the eleventh century. The stone eventually was taken by John Herncastle during the storming of Seringapatam in 1799. When he died, he bequeathed the Diamond to his niece, Rachel Verinder.

The author beings by explaining that he has refused the friendship of his cousin, John Herncastle because of events that occurred at the storming of Seringapatam. Their differences had to do with a yellow Diamond known as the Moonstone. The Diamond had been stolen by the Mussulman's. There were always three...