The Moonstone: Readalong!
It was on the suggestion of fellow readers that I decided to tackle The Moonstone: A Romance , by Wilkie Collins. I'm sorry to say that I'd never heard of either this book or the author before it was put forward for a readalong, one of my reading blind spots (I have many). Having done some background research, I have high hopes that this will be a fun novel. Wilkie Collins seems to have been a multi-talented man. Born in Britain and living for a time in Italy and France with his family, he was fluent in French. His painter father wanted him to become a clergyman, but he rejected this and pursued legal training. Called to the bar, he didn't work in the legal profession, but apparently his legal knowledge served him well in his writing. Writing was clearly his passion, and I was interested to learn of his partnership with Charles Dickens. They co-wrote plays, and even acted in plays together with Dickens' amateur theatre company. Apparently, Collins didn't like the...