(Book Jacket Status: Jacketed) Charles Dickens's final,
unfinished novel is in many ways his most intriguing. A highly
atmospheric tale of murder, "The Mystery of Edwin Drood"
foreshadows both the detective stories of Conan Doyle and the
nightmarish novels of Kafka. As in many of Dickens's greatest
novels, the gulf between appearance and reality drives the action.
Set in the seemingly innocuous cathedral town of Cloisterham, the
story rapidly darkens with a sense of impending evil. Central to
the plot is John Jasper: in public he is a man of integrity and
benevolence; in private he is an opium addict. And while seeming to
smile on the engagement of his nephew, Edwin Drood, he is, in fact,
consumed by jealousy, driven to terrify the boy's fiancee and to
plot the murder of Edwin himself. Though "The Mystery of Edwin
Drood" is one of its author's darkest books, it also bustles with a
vast roster of memorable-and delightfully named-minor characters:
Mrs. Billikins, the landlady; the foolish Mr. Sapsea; the
domineering philanthropist, Mr. Honeythunder; and the mysterious
Datchery. Several attempts have been made over the years to
complete the novel and solve the mystery, but even in its
unfinished state it is a gripping and haunting masterpiece.
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