La Piedra lunar, de Wilkie Collins (1824-1889), es considerada como una de las primeras novelas policiaca inglesa y su detective Cuff, uno de los primeros policías investigadores que aparecen en este género de novelas, años antes de aparecer Sherlok Holmes y todos los que después le sucedieron. Como en toda novela de misterio que se precie, algo o alguien desaparece, en este caso es una joya, que fue robada en la India y que termina en manos de una joven adinerada con motivo de su cumpleaños y que desaparece de su habitación durante la noche. Collins a partir de este suceso nos presenta a un grupo de sospechosos en los que tendremos que ir viendo que motivaciones tienen para robar la Piedra Lunar, cada uno de ellos nos dirá todo lo que sepan del acontecimiento según su punto de vista, y así poder saber quién  es el culpable y porque.

Esta novela, que fue publicada en 1868 en forma de folletín en uno de los periódicos que dirigía Dickens, amigo personal de Collins, muy influido por él, se convirtió en una de las mejores novelas policiacas de la historia de la literatura, y que todo aficionado a ella y a esta clase de narrativa no debe dejar de leer. La estructura de la novela se compone de un prologo del propio Collins, una introducción a la historia que se ha de contar y ocho capítulos de forma epistolar  donde cada uno de los personajes nos da sus puntos de vista, terminando con tres epílogos. Ya les digo, es una maravillosa novela, no se arrepentirán de leerla. Por algo T.S.Elliot dijo de ella que era “la novela mejor y más perfecta novela de detectives”. Un libro que debe estar de forma preferente en cualquier biblioteca que se precia. Hay muchas ediciones de esta novela, por lo que no les será difícil encontrarla, la que yo poseo está descatalogada por lo que les dejo los datos de una de las últimas.

Ficha:

Lengua: Castellano

Editorial: Belacqua

Colección: Verticales de bolsillo

Encuadernación: Tapa blanda

Edición: 1ª

Año: 2007

ISBN: 9788496694743

I think I may have already mentioned my love of the new Vintage Classics range, and this one has been sitting on my shelf since the beginning of the year, looking forlornly at me, waiting for me to pick it up. And I needed something big and brash to cheer me up from all those little books I have been reading lately. What better than a famous, wordy Victorian Gothic thriller?

After being saved from certain death by Walter Hartright, an art teacher, Professor Pesca decides to reward him by offering him a job at Limmeridge House – the ancestral home of the Fairlie family. There he meets Marian Halcombe and her beautiful half-sister, Laura Fairlie, with whom he promptly fall in love. Their love, however, is interrupted by Laura’s engagement to Sir Percival Glyde, who has a terrible secret. And what of the mysterious woman in white that seems to follow them around? And who is Count Fosco, really?

At over 600 pages, I was expecting this book to take forever to read. But somehow, I really raced through it – though I think that uni holidays helped with that. Even though Collins writes like every other Victorian novelist (slowly, with the need to explain every single thing that ever happens in great detail), the plot has enough drive to get past this, and power through. It tends to drag a little in the middle, when everyone is mysteriously falling ill, but really picks up in the last act, where everything becomes a desperate race to stop the true villain. Collins has created enough mystery and intrigue to keep even the most cynical readers interested.

I know that Laura Fairlie is supposed to be the woman that everyone wants, but really, she’s a bit of a wet blanket. She has the personality of a young child, and doesn’t seem to be able to make any decision of her own without either crying or fainting. Granted, she has a few moments, but it is really Marian that is the strong, independent woman that I really identified with. It is she who realises much of what is going on, and has the inteeligence and strength of mind to not scream at every opportunity. Both women do suffer, however, from the fact that they are female characters in a Victorian novel, and thus have the tendency to proclaim that they are “only a woman”, and therefore can’t possibly be as good as the men surrounding them. And considering that there are very few good men in this novel – even Walter is a bit boring, and tends to hysterics – it annoys even me.

This is apparently one of the first novels to consist of a collection of letters and recollections of each character – like in Dracula, called an epistolary novel, for those interested – and it works really well here. It helps that you never know who is going to make it and who isn’t – each of the narrators could just as easily be killed, because someone else can just tell the story. And Collins has enough in him to create unique styles for each of his characters – clearly a writer at the top of his game.

This book is a pretty clear explanation of why Collins was so popular during his time. It’s got almost everything you could want – thrilling plot, (fairly) interesting characters, intrigue, and a smattering of commentary on contemporary social issues to make yourself feel good while you read it. And, it’s stood the test of time, and is still a ripping good yarn.

Auteur: Wilkie Collins
Titre original : The woman in white
1ère édition : 1860
Ma note :

Quatrième de couverture :

Les Français avaient oublié ce roman, ancêtre de tous les thrillers, qui fascinait Borges et rendit jaloux Dickens (roman publié ici pour la première fois en version intégrale). Il nous révèle une sorte de ” Hitchcock de la littérature ” : suspens, pièges diaboliquement retors, terreurs intimes, secrètes inconvenances – rien n’y manque. Pourtant le chef-d’oeuvre de Collins n’a jamais cessé d’être dans les pays anglo-saxons un succès populaire : l’un des plus sûrs moyens, en tout cas, d’empêcher l’innocent lecteur de dormir.

Mon avis :
Je pensais mettre une semaine au moins pour lire ce pavé à l’écriture minuscule, que nenni !
J’ai dévoré cette brique de 554 pages ! Le style de Wilkie Collins est tout simplement délicieux, on plonge dans une autre époque, on redécouvre les moeurs d’une Angleterre victorienne passablement arriérée. Si l’histoire parait de prime abord assez simpliste, l’intrigue est habilement mise en place, le suspens et l’action prennent leur temps, les événements suivent leur cours à leur rythme. L’histoire est racontée par différents personnages et chacun a sa propre manière et son propre style. La noirceur du roman réside dans la psychologie des personnages et de la mentalité de l’époque. La perversité des relations humaines est illustrée à merveille par Collins. Le dénouement est certes prévisible mais c’est le déroulement des faits qui m’émerveille, plus que la solution de l’intrigue elle-même.
J’avais bien aimé Voie sans issue, écrit avec Charles Dickens, mais j’ai adoré La Dame en blanc.