The Moonstone is an ancient Indian diamond which brings disaster and tragedy to everyone who owns it. Rachel Verinder's uncle gives the diamond to her as a birthday present, but the same night, it is stolen. "Penguin Readers" is a series of simplified novels, film novelizations and original titles that introduce students at all levels to the pleasures of reading in English. Originally designed for teaching English as a foreign language, the series' combination of high interest level and low reading age makes it suitable for both English-speaking teenagers with limited reading skills and students of English as a second language. Many titles in the series also provide access to the pre-20th century literature strands of the National Curriculum English Orders. "Penguin Readers" are graded at seven levels of difficulty, from "Easystarts" with a 200-word vocabulary, to Level 6 (Advanced) with a 3000-word vocabulary. In addition, titles fall into one of three sub-categories: "Contemporary", "Classics" or "Originals". At the end of each book there is a section of enjoyable exercises focusing on vocabulary building, comprehension, discussion and writing. Some titles in the series are available with an accompanying audio cassette, or in a book and cassette pack. Additionally, selected titles have free accompanying "Penguin Readers Factsheets" which provide stimulating exercise material for students, as well as suggestions for teachers on how to exploit the Readers in class.

 

This book is part of a book series called Penguin Readers .

. This book is part of a reading scheme, meaning that it is a book aimed at children who are learning to read.

This book was published 2000 by Pearson Education Limited .

Wilkie Collins (1824-1889) was a hugely popular English novelist, playwright and writer of short stories, best-known today for the groundbreaking The Woman in White, which has famously been adapted for the stage by Andrew Lloyd Webber. Jan Needle is a writer of children's books, plays, criticism, cartoons, TV programmes and a wide range of fiction for adults. He lives in Oldham and Manchester. Anatolii Slepkov is a Russian artist, a graduate of the Odessa Art College and the Repin Institute in St Petersburg. A member of the National Association of Portrait Artists of Great Britain, he is also a successful book illustrator, his titles including The Big Book of Pirates.