Victorian papers were jam packed with grisly stories of murder and crime. Executions were still public. Today’s restraint is what would surprise a Victorian t

Victorian papers were jam packed with grisly stories of murder and crime. Executions were still public. Today’s restraint is what would surprise a Victorian time traveler. The Moonstone is the first detective novel and first “house murder” story (think of the game Cluedo, called Clue in the US). It’s still a great book to read today, a very modern story (you could send a telegram to the then-new Scotland Yard police and someone could come by on the train later in the day!). What’s crazy is that it’s author, Wilkie Collins, was at the time more famous and successful than Dickens, but is practically unknown today.