Victorians! discussion

Hello, Vics! And welcome to the first week of The Moonstone.
Fresh apologies for posting so late. Hopefully, we will be able to move forward smoothly after this rocky start. This week we have the prologue and the first several chapters of Gabriel Betteridge’s narrative.

•Prologue: Spring of 1799
The sack of Seringapatam, India

The novel begins with an account written by an unnamed relative in 1799. The account tells the story of a yellow diamond called The Moonstone and how it came into the possession of John Herncastle. According to the narrative, the Diamond has passed through many hands, each time bringing misfortune to the holder according to a prophecy, and followed by 3 priests dedicated to retrieving the stone and returning it to its rightful place. It had finally come to rest in the hilt of a dagger possessed by the Sultan of Seringapatam, and then into the hands of Herncastle under dubious and incriminating circumstances.

• First Period: Ch. 1-7 (of 23)
The Loss of the Diamond 1848 (as related by Gabriel Betteridge, House-Steward)

Gabriel Betteridge introduces himself and his task of writing down his memories of the events surrounding the disappearance of the Moonstone, two years prior, after the birthday of Rachel Verinder, daughter of Julia, Lady Verinder. Gabriel’s accounting is punctuated by his love for the novel, Robinson Crusoe, and his conviction that its contents can be relied on for guidance in all things. In these early chapters we are introduced to several key characters and to the events leading up to Rachel Verinder’s birthday celebration at which she is to receive the Diamond willed to her by her uncle, John Herncastle.

Questions
1) What are your thoughts on Gabriel Betteridge as narrator? Do you find his account to be reliable so far?
2) What strikes you about the history of the diamond and the preparations for Rachel’s 18th birthday?

Betteridge seems to me hardly reliable, as his opinions are mostly negative towards women and positive to the gentry. His complicated narrations remind me of an elderly and slightly demented person.
The delivery of the Moonstone to Rachel and through Franklin seems to be a malicious and dangerous event so far.

Yes, Betteridge is definitely swayed in his judgements. In his eyes, Lady Julia can do no wrong. But I like him somehow, in spite of his prejudices and obsession with Robinson Crusoe, a book for which I have no great love.

I like the way Collins uses Betteridge’s narration to add a tone of levity, while layering suspense with allusions to the diamond’s history and descriptions of the Shivering Sands.

Also, thank goodness for Penelope! She kept a diary and seems to have a clearer idea of what is going on with other characters.

Gabriel is certainly opinionated, but Penelope is the one who doesn't miss anything. Of course, he hardly listens to her.

Ha! My dad was a lot like that. I wonder if it’s a dad trait?

Michaela wrote: "Betteridge seems to me hardly reliable [...]. His complicated narrations remind me of an elderly and slightly demented person..."

I look at it as a clever literary device by Collins. Betteridge as a servant is not in the habit of writing lengthy pieces, so what we get is an "unedited" version. His accompanying thoughts leak into the narrative, which give us more information, but as a result what he writes down would normally be heavily edited to keep on topic. His lack of polish also keeps the social stratification in place.

That’s a really good point. It does seem like Betteridge is talking directly to the reader.

I also think that Betteridge is an unreliable narrator. And I agree that he was prejudicial. Still, it was one of the narratives that I enjoyed, for somehow I found it to be humorous.

Yes, it´s humorous too, and I like that he shows Betteridge´s account as natural as it would be.

I also enjoyed the humour in the first section and even if some of the opinions of Gabriel might have been unpalatable, there were some things he remarked on that definitely rang true of many people.

’ It is one of my rules in life, never to notice what I don't understand. I steered a middle course between the Objective side and the Subjective side. In plain English I stared hard, and said nothing.’

I think Gabriel is well written as the fiercely loyal old retainer whose whole life has been devoted to the service of Lady Verinder. In his eyes all the other characters have one or two faults but his ‘Lady’ is faultless and his devotion is absolute.

The story of the diamond is both fabulous and sinister and therefore problematical for anyone to ascertain the absolute truth. No wonder there is a difficulty in understanding the motives of Lady Verinder’s brother in giving the Moonstone as a birthday present to Rachel.

I was intrigued by the description of the character of Franklin. Having been educated abroad he seems to have taken on the traits of those in the countries he has resided in.
’…. a consequence of this, he had come back with so many different sides to his character, all more or less jarring with each other, that he seemed to pass his life in a state of perpetual contradiction with himself. He could be a busy man, and a lazy man; cloudy in the head, and clear in the head; a model of determination, and a spectacle of helplessness, all together.’

Trev, I enjoyed those descriptions you just posted when I read the book. Gabriel does provide us with some gentle humour in his narrative.

I agree with you, Betteridge isn’t so reliable in his intuitions. He is mostly wrong but I loved him as a character. Penelope is much more reliable than his dad and she understands people’s feelings for each other easily.
I think the prologue was short but it the history of the diamond was narrated beautifully and in great detail. I really loved it so far cannot wait to read the rest of the book.

I've owned this book for some time, and it would have rotated into position quite a while ago, but when I joined this group, I thought it might some time come up for a group read, so I left it alone. Voila !

The story, which gets off to an impersonal and ho-hum start, suddenly seems very real when we are privy to the encounter of the butler Betteredge with the odd duck Roseanne Spearman at mysterious Shivering Sand beach, and we begin to get to know them both. Roseanne is then strangely distressed when Franklin Blake appears.

I really love this novel, Beril. It’s just so clever and well put together. Collins does a wonderful job with his collection of narrators. I think you’re going to really enjoy the ride. :).

Perfect timing, then, Brian. It’s so great when things turn out like that!

Renee wrote: "Perfect timing, then, Brian. It’s so great when things turn out like that!"

Heh heh. Yes, thanks, Renee :)

I agree that Betteredge is an unreliable narrator but I enjoy his retelling nevertheless. Rachel’s behaviour is very suspicious in my opinion.

Although the schedule is different you may find it interesting to scan through the comments from our 2016 Read of this novel...

https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...

This is my first Collins. I am finding Betteridge a little chattier than I prefer for a narrator. I also have no familiarity with the plot/characters of Robinson Crusoe so I know there are probably allusions that I am not getting, but I do want to see where the story goes from here!

I don’t think you’re missing as much as you suspect, Marie. Just imagine taking advice from a novel you loved as a kid.

I'm only just reading this now. It's been on my TBR for a long time and the Woman in White is one of my long time favourites. I know I'm late to the group read, but will post my thoughts here as I go along.

So far, I agree with the others the Betteridge is a mildly reliable narrator, and that he is likeable despite his opinions and sometimes lack of intelligence. I have tried reading Robinson Crusoe a few times in life and never got more than a few chapters in so can't relate to his obsession, but then I understand turning to familiar books in times of stress, or wishing you were tucked away reading a book rather than working or enduring a social function you didn't want to attend.

Like someone else said, the history of the diamond - and who rightfully owns it - seems problematic. This is reflected in the letter the uncle left for Lady Julia and Rachel - like the diamond's dubious history, his motives are unclear and clouded. Does he mean well, or harm? (my guess is the later...). Though they don't have many lines, I am more intrigued by Penelope and Roseanne than the other characters so far.