# Mr. Murthwaite — The Moonstone character guide

> Mr. Murthwaite in The Moonstone by Wilkie Collins.

**Role:** supporting

**Also known as:** the immovable Mr. Murthwaite, Murthwaite

**First appearance:** 0004-iii

## Snapshot

The lawyer who drew Herncastle's will and knows the Moonstone's bloody history, he alone can read the danger gathering around the diamond.

## Who they are

Murthwaite is the family solicitor whose professional life has been entangled with the Moonstone since India: he drafted the will, received Herncastle's letters, and urged Franklin Blake to carry the gem to Yorkshire. When a disguised Indian visits his office offering a jeweled casket as security for a loan, Murthwaite recognizes the man's grave politeness and lethal purpose, yet calmly refuses him. His cool expertise makes him the story's most reliable witness to the diamond's origins and the forces pursuing it.

## In the story

### [The Birthday Dinner](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_moonstone_se/chapters/x)

Indian traveller, warns Rachel about the diamond's sacred nature and the threat from the Indians, advises cutting the stone.

### [I](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_moonstone_se/chapters/i)

Celebrated traveller; Bruff converses with him about the Moonstone, which has bearing on later events.

### [Chapter III](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_moonstone_se/chapters/iii)

Provides expert analysis of the Indians' actions and motives, including translation of a Hindustani letter.

### [Epilogue: The Finding of the Diamond](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_moonstone_se/chapters/epilogue-the-finding-of-the-diamond)

Provides the final account of the Moonstone's return to its Indian shrine.

### [III: The Statement of Mr. Murthwaite (1850)](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_moonstone_se/chapters/iii-the-statement-of-mr-murthwaite-1850)

Narrator of the chapter; describes his journey and the ceremony.

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_moonstone_se/characters/mr_murthwaite
- Book: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_moonstone_se
- All characters: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_moonstone_se/characters