Because of opium

Wilkie Collins’ The Moonstone opens our hearts to shades of character we know we’ll encounter again. Miss Clack’s self-importance, her sense of moral outrage along with her busybodyness comes alive as if in film. The very-rooted Betteredge’s search for inspiration in Robinson Crusoe transforms him into something more than an elderly loyal steward of the Verinder household while honoring Defoe’s influence on Collins. In Gooseberry, we are reminded of Dickens’ portrayal of childhood on the streets. And of course, Sergeant Cuff embodies all that Collins prizes: grace, compassion, razor-sharp intelligence, love of roses. It is Cuff who introduces us to humming as another sort of reflecting.