(Book Jacket Status: Jacketed)
Charles Dickens’s final, unfinished novel is in many ways his most intriguing. A highly atmospheric tal... read full description
Charles Dickens’s final, unfinished novel is in many ways his most intriguing. A highly atmospheric tal... read full description
reviews
Feb 01, 2009
Nancy
rated it: 
I knew at the outset that Dickens died before he had the chance to finish this novel, but I didn't realize how incredibly frustrated I was going to be because of it! It seems that he was just getting somewhere, and that there was going to be some climactic action coming up shortly, and then poof. No more book. But on the other hand, it was so good getting to that point, and as noted, I am aware that The Mystery of Edwin Drood was unfinished, so I can't say that I was all that frustrated, reall
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Dec 31, 2010
James
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Four years, many speaking engagements, and a trip to America intervened between Charles Dickens' penultimate novel and his final one, The Mystery of Edwin Drood.
Ever since his involvement in a train accident in 1865 on his return from France, and perhaps even before, Dickens was ailing with a variety of illnesses, some of which were at least aggravated by overwork and his refusal to reduce his schedule. It was thus in 1869 that he began writing his final novel of which the first six of the More...
Ever since his involvement in a train accident in 1865 on his return from France, and perhaps even before, Dickens was ailing with a variety of illnesses, some of which were at least aggravated by overwork and his refusal to reduce his schedule. It was thus in 1869 that he began writing his final novel of which the first six of the More...
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May 25, 2011
Jeanette
rated it: 
I'll tell you one thing for free-----the ending sucked! :D
I don't know how to rate a book that's only half-written due to author demise. It's not my habit to read unfinished novels. I only read this so I could see Dan Simmons' jumping-off point for his recent Drood novel. Simmons used very little from Dickens' story. There's erratic behavior by an opium user, and some of the characters are similar, but Simmons' book is really his own creation. He focused more on the lives of Charl More...
I don't know how to rate a book that's only half-written due to author demise. It's not my habit to read unfinished novels. I only read this so I could see Dan Simmons' jumping-off point for his recent Drood novel. Simmons used very little from Dickens' story. There's erratic behavior by an opium user, and some of the characters are similar, but Simmons' book is really his own creation. He focused more on the lives of Charl More...
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Jan 21, 2012
Lauren
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Dickens died before he finished it, and the female lead is described in terms that would make any feminist snarl, however, even with those frustrations, it's a heck of a read. Dickens descriptions of the opium addicts alone are worth the book's effort. It's all classic Dickens - the names, "Rosa Bud," (with the unfortunate nickname of "Pussy") "Grewgious," "Rev. Crisparkle," "Durdles," "Dick Datchery," "Princess Puffer" (th
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Mar 04, 2009
Ben
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This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers.
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Aug 03, 2011
Andrew
rated it:
To say nothing happens in this book would be an understatement. The plot vaguely meanders along, characters come and characters go with very little reason why, as if it was written with hardly an end goal in mind. After the first few pages, once I had realised the main characters were clergymen, clerks, a simpleton stone mason, an auctioneer, a young urchin etc, I didn't expect it to be like Miami Vice, but it really is tedious and overly-verbose in the extreme. Most of the 'action' if I can cal
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Feb 09, 2010
Tim
rated it:
Toughest book to rate, EVER. The final novel from a master — but exactly half finished! That makes a five-star rating out of the question, but can I give it four when it isn't otherwise truly great? Well, I did. Maybe I'll change the rating daily (four, three, four, three) for the rest of my life.
"The Mystery of Edwin Drood" opens with three men and a woman sprawled across an "unseemly" bed, two of the men in a stupor, the woman smoking opium, and, emerging himsel More...
"The Mystery of Edwin Drood" opens with three men and a woman sprawled across an "unseemly" bed, two of the men in a stupor, the woman smoking opium, and, emerging himsel More...
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Nov 08, 2009
Paula
rated it: 
It's hard for me to rate anything by Dickens as less than 3 stars, but this was a little bit of a struggle. I started the book with an apprehensive and mournful attitude, knowing the the author passed away before finishing the book.
Throughout the story, it almost seems as though Dickens was aware that he wouldn't finish, aware that his time was running out, and was in a rush to get as much in as possible before he couldn't add anymore. That left a story that was quite confusing in par More...
Throughout the story, it almost seems as though Dickens was aware that he wouldn't finish, aware that his time was running out, and was in a rush to get as much in as possible before he couldn't add anymore. That left a story that was quite confusing in par More...
Oct 07, 2010
Nathan
rated it:
I had a moment of euphoria while reading this book, around the fifth/sixth chapter...one of those great moments where you realize why you love good books. If finished I think it would've made a terrific book, as it is, it's still wonderful. The edition I read included a short introduction by G.K. Chesterton that analyzed different theories for the books end, from the murderer's identity to the strange character of Mr. Datchery to the possibility that Edwin Drood is not dead at all. I was remi
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Dec 07, 2009
Paul
rated it:
Once I got over the Dickensian style, especially the delicate china-doll description of his women protagonist Rosa Bud, I was hooked. This sadly, foreshortened-by-death, novel reveals as much in its superb descriptions, including humanly depicted dish set, that speaks to the reader, than it does in its plot.
Every benevolent inhabitant of this retreat had his name inscribed upon his stomach. The pickles, in a uniform of rich brown double-breasted buttoned coat, and yellow or sombre dr More...
Every benevolent inhabitant of this retreat had his name inscribed upon his stomach. The pickles, in a uniform of rich brown double-breasted buttoned coat, and yellow or sombre dr More...
Nov 01, 2011
This half a book: Dickens died before he could complete it. A summary of the plot is widely available (try Wikepedia), so let us take that as read. The mystery truly has no solution though there may be a variety of plausible beliefs. Personally, I am happy to remain in ignorance. The disappointment is less in not knowing the outcome as in the loss of what has all the makings of a novel to stand with the best of Dickens.
Setting aside the main protagonists, there is great joy to be h More...
Setting aside the main protagonists, there is great joy to be h More...
Jul 09, 2010
Sasha
rated it:
This was Dickens last-and unfinished-novel. If you read it, you may be disconcerted by the abrupt finish before any loose ends have been tied up. Notwithstanding that I still recommend this book as a cracking read.
The novel starts in the dinghy confines of an opium den and a Gothic atmosphere pervades the novel. It is set in the imaginary Cathedral town of Cloisterham, replete with low vaulted ceilings, dark graveyards and musty crypts. There is even an old crone who calls people 'D More...
The novel starts in the dinghy confines of an opium den and a Gothic atmosphere pervades the novel. It is set in the imaginary Cathedral town of Cloisterham, replete with low vaulted ceilings, dark graveyards and musty crypts. There is even an old crone who calls people 'D More...
Oct 29, 2011
Jim
rated it:
Dickens is at the height of his power here. Almost every paragraph is exceptional. It amazes me how he can vocalize each character in their own peculiar ways. You always know who is speaking or thinking. Unfortunately, the book is unfinished, Dickens died at about the halfway point in the story.
Some people do not approve of his characters, especially the young women, who are often portrayed as very beautiful, delicate and unable to care for themselves. The heroes are strong and handso More...
Some people do not approve of his characters, especially the young women, who are often portrayed as very beautiful, delicate and unable to care for themselves. The heroes are strong and handso More...
Jan 21, 2008
Amanda
rated it:
In 19 new chapters, Leon Garfield successfully wraps up all of the loose ends left at the end of chapter 22, but not by introducing a whole new cast of characters that leave you crying, "But Dickens never gave a hint that THAT might happen!"
Though we'll never get to read the ending of Edwin Drood as Dickens would have written it, I think Leon Garfield gives us a very satisfactory solution to the "mystery".
Though we'll never get to read the ending of Edwin Drood as Dickens would have written it, I think Leon Garfield gives us a very satisfactory solution to the "mystery".
Jan 22, 2012
Nick
rated it:
I wouldn’t call myself a fan of Dickens. There are the ones I love (Great Expectations, A Tale of Two Cities, the Christmas stories, Bleak House), the ones I completed but didn’t enjoy, and the ones I couldn’t finish. I hadn’t read any Dickens for maybe fifteen years before I read this. The original story written by Dickens centres on the disappearance of young Edwin Drood in the town of Cloisterham, on the eve of his departure for a career in the Far East, having abandoned his engagement to his
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Sep 27, 2011
John
rated it:
The mystery is that the title character disappears halfway through the book. Is he dead? Was he murdered? If so, whodunit?
We are pondering these questions when a stunning plot twist occurs: Charles Dickens dies, taking the answers to the grave with him. Or perhaps Dickens himself didn't know the answers.
This edition includes "The Trial of John Jasper," written anonymously (apparently) years later and including such notables as G.K. Chesterton as judge and George Bernard Sh More...
We are pondering these questions when a stunning plot twist occurs: Charles Dickens dies, taking the answers to the grave with him. Or perhaps Dickens himself didn't know the answers.
This edition includes "The Trial of John Jasper," written anonymously (apparently) years later and including such notables as G.K. Chesterton as judge and George Bernard Sh More...
Mar 04, 2010
Susie
rated it:
I wanted to love this book, I really did, but in the end, it just fell short. Maybe it was the fact that it was never finished, maybe it was the slow start, or maybe it was the famous Dickens descriptions that literally went on for pages. I found the characters all very unique and intriguing in the their own right, (the names alone can spin one's head), but I felt the story wasn't enough to give them life and keep me really invested in the novel. Mr. Jasper had the beginnings of true evilness, M
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Sep 25, 2010
Elizabeth
rated it:
OH. MY. GOODNESS. How is it possible for a book to be so enthralling, so fascinating, yet be so intrinsically frustrating? "The Mystery of Edwin Drood" was Charles Dickens's last book, and it is an exiting, complicated, romantic, dark mystery indeed - made all the more aggravating by the fact that Dickens died halfway through writing the book, leaving the mystery unsolved! The book was published episodically, so half of the book had already been published when Dickens died, leaving his
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Feb 17, 2010
Alex
rated it:
This book is a complete enigma, least of all because it remained unfinished at Dickens death and no-one knows the solution to the "mystery" of Edwin Drood's death. (As much as the clues point to Jasper being the killer, I can't help feeling it would be so much more like Dickens to have Edwin return alive ...but it's not important, we'll never know!). There are flashes of the genius writer Dickens was that I know and love, particularly in the relationship between Edwin and Rosa who j
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Jan 30, 2012
Roger
rated it:
I knew that this book was never finished when I started it due to the untimely death of Charles Dickens.
There are some issues I had with this book. The first would be of course the ending be left to the imagination of those reading it. The second would be the way that the story is sometimes short on character inclusion almost as if they are unfinished. Maybe the reason would be that they never reached the conclusion of what was intended.
I will say that there is a momen More...
There are some issues I had with this book. The first would be of course the ending be left to the imagination of those reading it. The second would be the way that the story is sometimes short on character inclusion almost as if they are unfinished. Maybe the reason would be that they never reached the conclusion of what was intended.
I will say that there is a momen More...
Nov 07, 2009
Kate
rated it:
Well . . . it picked up toward the end. I'm sorry that Dickens never finished this work; two characters, Mr. Datchery adn the Puffer PRincess, introduced just before Dickens passed, added a bit of depth to the novel that it was lacking in earlier chapters. Mr. Crisparkle, who came off as such a ninny in the beginning, began to show aspects of the 'muscular Christianity' that he was intended to, and may be, next to the old Warden (name escaping me) from Trollope's Barsetshire Cycle, my favorite f
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Jun 17, 2011
dee
rated it:
I read and listened to this one. So many characters as it is with Dickens. The reader was superb as all English readers seem to be. Nobody can say cathedral and make it sound like "kin free der el"
Being this was an unfinished work by Dickens we really don't know what The Mystery of Edwin Drood is. It was still full of great characters like Jasper or Jarsper depending on who was speaking, Mr. Crisparkle, Mr. Bazzard, Mr. Twinkleton, Mr. Grewgious and of course who could fo More...
Being this was an unfinished work by Dickens we really don't know what The Mystery of Edwin Drood is. It was still full of great characters like Jasper or Jarsper depending on who was speaking, Mr. Crisparkle, Mr. Bazzard, Mr. Twinkleton, Mr. Grewgious and of course who could fo More...
Jan 24, 2010
Darlene
rated it:
I was so looking forward to reading this book. I have loved Charles Dickens since high school but after finishing it, I think the real mystery is..WHO wrote this book? In the beginning, there are glimmers of the Dickens that I love..vivid descriptions of the underclass addicted to opium living right under the noses of the clueless aristocracy. I think this book was supposed to be about who actually murdered Edwin Drood. That question was actually answered fairly early in the story. Then the que
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Jun 13, 2010
Keri
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I'm happy to say that I have finally read a Dickens' novel. The prose took a while to get used to but by the middle of the book, I was doing ok. I know that Dickens died before completing this book and there is much speculation as to who actually killed Drood, if in fact he was killed at all. I was really curious to see just where it left off. It is a shame that Dickens did not get to finish the book as it is a really inviting and thought-provoking mystery. Many possible suspects, many pote
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Mar 31, 2010
Deirdre
rated it: 
I have never been a big fan of Dickens, his long-winded writing style, his tendency to bog you down with unnecessary details. This, his last book, was being published as a story in parts. Intended to be a 12-part piece, Dickens finished only 6 of them before he died. Being a story of Dickens' though, it has now been published in one binding as an unfinished novel...which only makes the story worse. Now there's all this speculation about what Dickens intended for the remainder of the book, and y'
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Mar 15, 2009
Maureen
rated it:
it's been a while since i've read any dickens and i don't know if i was properly in the mood for this one -- i found his padding to be a little frustrating, perhaps because i knew that i would come to the end of the book without there being a resolution. especially frustrating were the pages dedicated to the domestic battle of wills between billickin, and twinkleton. but there is some beautiful language here, and the characters breathe. the main mystery for me is who is mr. datchery? it seems to
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Mar 07, 2011
It's sort of horrifying how many books I seem to read at a time. But I started this one 35 years ago & am finally finishing it (which is, I guess, more than Dickens can say!).
Ellie NYC
Ellie NYC
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Jun 12, 2009
J
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Unfinished works of art are often sources of great mystery. Mozart's Requiem, Fitzgerald's The Love of the Last Tycoon, a whole raft of Hemingway novels foisted upon the public post-Papa, Herge's Tintin and Alph-Art, several projects of Orson Welles, the list goes on and on. The common question is, of course, how would this have been completed, which masks the more pertinent question -- have we been cheated out of what would have been a masterpiece?
There is no mystery to that questio More...
There is no mystery to that questio More...
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Jan 05, 2009
Anne
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Ostensibly, the thrill here is trying to figure out whodunit, since Dickens died in the middle of writing. But whatever--that's totally obvious from page one, as the ending of Dickens novels usually is (I won't spoil it, but seriously, if you can't tell...). The real pleasure comes from how you're forced to keep inhabiting the story after you've finished reading. Since we don't get Dickens' ending, the characters continue to linger, long after you put the book down. Plus, he keeps shifting f
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Nov 14, 2009
Madeline
rated it:
Edwin Drood is not really much of a mystery: you know who will do what and why fairly early on (except for the usual mysteries of personal relationships that develop during the novel). Dickens usually telegraphed plot developments, and this novel is no exception.
It's . . . okay. I found it difficult to pay very close attention, and some parts are quite troubling (one wonders what Edward Said would say about Edwin Drood). I think it's more ideologically imperialist than the other Dick More...
It's . . . okay. I found it difficult to pay very close attention, and some parts are quite troubling (one wonders what Edward Said would say about Edwin Drood). I think it's more ideologically imperialist than the other Dick More...
