Genre

The Moonstone

by Wilkie Collins

The Moonstone: Genre 1 key example

Genre
Explanation and Analysis:

 The Moonstone is a very early example of the Mystery genre. It has a complicated series of interwoven plots. These are made even more difficult to predict and navigate through Collins's use of misleading clues, false assumptions presented as facts, and red herrings (things which seem like clues but which are really intended to be misleading or distracting, like Rosanna's replacing of Blake's stained nightgown). There's a moral component to truth-telling in novels like this, and characters who lie about serious matters are often depicted as being villainous. The Moonstone's plot needed to be both intense and dense in this way because the novel was originally published as a serial in the journal All The Year Round. Collins needed to keep readers interested in the storyline, so many sections of the novel end with startling revelations or cliffhangers.