Figuring Out The Moonstone

               The Moonstone by Wilkie Collins is categorized under the detective mystery genre. I am about to begin reading it to better understand the emergence of novels that came from the Enlightenment era. I am under the impression that it is an epistemological book, which means that is it is largely made up of letters from different people, combined to make up a storyline that can be followed.

The clock, the paper, and the writing tools each relate to the
emerging mystery and epistemology genre

I believe this will relate strongly to the Republic of Letters as the mystery is publicized about the stealing of the diamond and rumors begin to flow. I would not be surprised if this book changes a frame of reference. Stories in the enlightenment age were rarely told from a conglomeration of letters. This provides a different form of literature that casts a new light on the way stories can be told. It also relates to this era as the order the letters are written, sent, and received could greatly affect the content of the plot. This relates strongly to the clockwork universe that begins to surface. Timing can make all the difference in the content of the novel. Will it be a chronological list of letters or will it be letters written by observers long after the events have taken place?

This epistemological genre of The Moonstone intrigues me as it relates to a part of my life. I lived for two years in Quebec and Ontario as a volunteer missionary for my church. To remain focused on my work, I would only write an email or letter home to my family once a week to let them know how I was doing and what events had transpired. Many times, we would be helping people to overcome addictions or trials in their lives and I would have the chance to tell my family all about their progress. However, a lot can happen in a week and so the story of my experiences was always progressing as each week would pass. 

This book seems to contain several enlightenment themes. I have learned that this is one of the first mystery books written and I will likely set a precedent for the genre. 

Image credit: Still Life by Mozlase__, licensed under CC 2.0 by Pixaby