![]() ![]() Fans of that book might appreciate Drood’s similar mood. The novel’s dark tones reminded me a little of The Meaning of Night by Michael Cox. I recommend it for fans of Charles Dickens or Wilkie Collins. I think that this book will have niche appeal. The book is a fictionalized account of the last five years of Charles Dickens life told from the viewpoint of Dickens friend and fellow author, Wilkie Collins. While I like both types of fiction I found the change in emphasis disconcerting. About halfway through it read more like a horror novel. Dickens and Collins follow the Drood’s path through opium parlors, an underground city and even to Dickens’s home at Gad’s Hill Place.įor me the book started out as a Victorian mystery. This nearly 800 page novel takes the reader through varied settings in Victorian England. (Simmons must have rubbed his hands together with glee to have such fantastic source material.) How did Collins feel about his older and more successful companion? What lengths did Collins resort to in order to feed his addiction? And then he adds a little something to the mix. ![]() Collins really was addicted to opium and was convinced that he was accompanied by a ghostly twin. The imagination of Dan Simmons paints a horrific picture of this very real accident. His best-known works are The Woman in White and The Moonstone.Īgain, it’s difficult to know where the truth ends and the fiction begins. ![]() Today Collins is best remembered as an author who helped develop the mystery genre. In 1853 Dickens gave the first public reading of one of his works. Illustration in Harper’s Weekly, December 1867. Public Readings Charles Dickens as he appears when reading. Collins was a real person and a close friend of Charles Dickens. On JDickens spent the day working on The Mystery of Edwin Drood. He is, “cadaverously thin, almost shockingly pale, and started at the writer from dark-shadowed eyes set deep under a pale, high brow that melded into a pale, bald scalp. That something is named Drood.Īt the accident scene Dickens meets a man that calls himself Drood. The imagination of Dan Simmons paints a horrific picture of this very real accident. Dickens’s railway car barely made it over the 42 foot gap in the tracks. In 1865 Charles Dickens had a brush with death when the train he was traveling on went over a bridge undergoing renovation. This work of historical fiction begins at a scene of death and destruction, the Staplehurst railway accident. That means that if you click through and take action, the publisher of this website will receive compensation. Neville has been found stabbed to death.Some of the links on this page are affiliate links. The Mystery of Edwin Drood, Dickenss final novel was left unfinished before his death in 1871. Nicholas Kok (piano) Director Gordon House John Jasper continues to search for proof that his nephew Edwin has been murdered by Neville Landless. ![]() Sun 18th Mar 1990, 14:30 on BBC Radio 4 FMĮdwin has disappeared and Jasper is convinced that his nephew has been murdered by Neville Landless.Ī mysterious stranger arrives in Cloisterham and seems to entertain other ideas. It proves to be the last meeting the three will ever have. Piano: Nicholas Kok Directed By: Gordon Houseįirst broadcast: Sun 11th Mar 1990, 14:30 on BBC Radio 4 FMĮdwin and Neville, determined to resolve their differences, agree to attend a Christmas Eve dinner hosted by Edwin's guardian, Jasper. The arrival in Cloisterham of Neville and Helena Landless sets in motion a chain of events leading to murder. Its told from the point of view of his friend and fellow author Wilkie Collins and is about the last 5 years of Dickenss life, written as a memoir by Collins to be read 125 years after his death. Dickens enthusiasts have been competing to come up with an ending. Sun 4th Mar 1990, 14:30 on BBC Radio 4 FMīy Charles Dickens, concluded by Leon Garfieldand, dramatised in five parts by David Buck. Drood is a Historical Fantasy novel by Dan Simmons, featuring Charles Dickens. Fri 07.05 EST Charles Dickens The Mystery of Edwin Drood has been one of literatures most enduring conundrums. On JDickens spent the day working on The Mystery of Edwin Drood. ![]()
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