Reading The Father of the Modern English Detective Novel
Wilkie Collins was born in London in 1824 and his first novel -- a historical romance called “Anatonia” -- was published when he was 26. Shortly after this he met Charles Dickens, and they formed a close friendship that lasted for ten years and influenced both men's writing. Collins went on to publish 25 novels as well as many short stories, plays and works of non-fiction. However, he is most well known for the two mystery novels “The Woman in White” and “The Moonstone”.

Collins published both mysteries as serials in All the Year Round. When it appeared in the magazine in 1860, “The Woman in White” was so popular that it became the subject of a song and a play. It even influenced fashion, and many women started to dress in white. Eight years later “The Moonstone” was published and earned Collins the title "the father of the modern English detective novel". T S Elliot, another famous writer, said that The Moonstone was the "first and greatest of English detective novels", and it is still admired by modem crime writers today.

An author of many mysteries, Dorothy L Sayers considered “The Moonstone” to be "probably the very finest detective story ever written", and many people agree with her. There are several reasons why they think so. One is the way the events in the novel are revealed to the reader. Collins uses different characters to tell each section of the story. The characters have very different personalities and voices, which are interesting and often amusing. There are also several features of the plot which started trends in mystery writing. For example, many detective stories are set in a country house, in a situation where the theft must have been committed by one of the people in the house. The character of a famous detective with an unusual appearance and habits occurs in many books, and an innocent person is often under suspicion at first. A number of modem films have also used the idea of a cursed jewel stolen from a religious statue. And of course, in The Moonstone and most other good mystery novels, the person who at first seems the least likely to be the criminal turns out to be guilty.

In the eighteenth century new farming methods in Britain made agriculture more efficient. This was followed in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries by changes in industry as factories started to use newly invented machines. These two periods in British history were so important that they are known as the Agricultural and Industrial Revolutions. They were times of great economic and technical progress which also resulted in some huge changes in the society, one of which was a rise in crime.

Farms could produce more with fewer workers, so people from the countryside moved to the cities to look for work in factories. However, there were not enough jobs for all those who wanted them. As urban populations increased, unemployment, overcrowding and poverty became widespread. As a consequence of their struggle to survive, many people became criminals. The crime rate rose rapidly, and by 1840 it was higher than ever before.

The most common crimes were theft by pick pocketing or housebreaking, even though the punishment was extreme. Many criminals were sent to America or Australia, or found themselves living in terrible conditions in overcrowded and dirty prisons. In fact, until 1823 a person could even be put to death for stealing a piece of bread or picking a pocket.

History books present the facts, but fiction that was written at the time also tells us what daily life was really like. Wilkie Collins' The Moonstone shows how wealthy people lived, and other writers provided information about different sections of society. For example, Charles Dickens' novel “A Christmas Carol” explains the great difference that existed between the lifestyles of rich people and those who were poor.
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