T.S. Eliot is often quoted as saying that The Moonstone was “the first and greatest of English detective novels, and I’m hard-pressed to disagree with him. Exciting and suspenseful, well-constructed, and with several really great characters… Anyway, I’ll have more to say about that this week. Also to come: The Croquet Player by H.G. Wells, unexpectedly good.
Yesterday I was committed to help bring home a Christmas tree for the consumption partner’s parents, and after the two of us carried a 10-foot tree about five blocks I was pretty much overexerted for the weekend. I came home and baked banana bread and between the carrying and the mixing my arms are now so stiff even holding up a book is troublesome. But I will persevere and overcome the pain, for the sake of literature, and this blog.
Next up to read is The Hound of the Baskervilles. I’m having a lot of fun doing this mystery theme; for all my love of detective fiction I’ve never read Sherlock Holmes, and I hadn’t read Wilkie Collins before either. I like filling in these sorts of holes.
ETA: Alas, Sherlock Holmes is still untouched as of Sunday evening. I have started in on The Murder of Roger Ackroyd instead; I have so little ability to plan ahead sometimes.
I read THE HOUND OF THE BASERVILLES about a year back, and was really surprised at how much fun it was. I hope you enjoy it as much as I did!
When you’ve finished THE MURDER OF RPGER ACKROYD you might like to check my recent review of it. I’ve linked my name to it.