The Moonstone

In 1799, during the storming of Seringapatam in India, an English officer steals a great yellow diamond from a Hindu shrine. Fifty years later it is left to his niece, Rachel Verinder, as a birthday present, and on the night of her birthday it disappears from her room. Three mysterious Indians have been seen near the house, and the famous Sergeant Cuff is called in.

Published in 1868, The Moonstone is told by several witnesses, including a house steward who consults Robinson Crusoe for advice on every occasion. T. S. Eliot called it the first, the longest and the best of modern English detective novels. Wilkie Collins also wrote The Woman in White.