World-famous sleuths Lew Archer, Father Brown, Sherlock Holmes, Jules Maigret, Philip Marlowe, Hercule Poirot, Nero Wolfe, and Porfiry Petrovich gather in Rome to ponder Charles Dickens's final and unfinished novel. 10,000 first printing. Major ad/promo.
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Book Description
Editorial Reviews
From Library Journal
Charles Dickens died before the last installments of The Mystery of Edwin Drood were written, so the book has tantalized readers for many years. In this clever combination of literary scholarship and satire, such famous fictitious detectives as Sherlock Holmes, Hercule Poirot, Jules Maigret, and others gather at a conference in Rome to mull over the clues and offer their solutions to the mystery. As the discussion continues and the characters interact, even the relationship between Dickens and Wilkie Collins is brought into question. The text of The Mystery of Edwin Drood (also known as MED) is interspersed between their discussions. This is a very pleasant way of reading literary criticism. Recommended for public and academic libraries.
- Ann Irvine, Montgomery Cty. P.L., Md.
Copyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc.
- Ann Irvine, Montgomery Cty. P.L., Md.
Copyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc.
From Kirkus Reviews
A bevy of fictional detectives--from Sherlock Holmes and Father Brown to Raskolnikov's nemesis, Porfiry Petrovich--convene at a conference in Rome to complete Dickens's last novel, left tantalizingly incomplete at the author's death. The playful collaborators (The Sunday Woman, 1973) intersperse chapters of Drood with their detectives' speculations; hence, most of the words here are Dickens's--and terrific words they are, as jovial, empty-headed Edwin Drood confesses his non-love to his long-plighted troth Rosa Bud (a non-sentiment she completely reciprocates); quarrels with swarthy, intense Neville Landless; and disappears following a Christmas Eve reconciliation party given by his opium-smoking uncle, choirmaster John Jasper--all amid a swirl of unforgettable minor luminaries, from kindly minor canon Septimus Crisparkle and fatuous auctioneer Thomas Sapsea to hypersensitive Helena Landless and mysterious investigator Dick Datchery. Dickens is a tough act to follow, however, and the present-day chapters are weakened further by the authors' (or their translator's) tin ear for the speech of Nero Wolfe, Philip Marlowe, and Lew Archer; of all the fictional detectives here, only Hercule Poirot consistently shines in a surprising variety of roles. After reviewing the evidence and endlessly debating the long-contested premise of Jasper's guilt, the conference plumps for a solution that's surprising, logical, well-documented, and entirely new--though most readers will wonder whether it's really worth all the byplay that precedes it. A clever, eventually successful tour de force, mostly for audiences who'd like to renew their acquaintance with Drood--and who don't mind paying top dollar for the privilege. -- Copyright ©1992, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
What the Dickens!?!?,
By
This review is from: The D. Case: Or The Truth About The Mystery Of Edwin Drood (Paperback)
In this book, a group of fictional detectives (mostly famous, but with a few obscure ones) are assembled in Rome to solve "The Mystery of Edwin Dood". "The Mystery of Edwin Drood" was Charles Dickens' last book, which he died before completing. This book reprints "Drood" in it's unfinished entirety, interupted periodically by the detectives discussing the "case". I found the book (both "Drood" and the new bits with Sherlock Holmes and company) to be quite entertaining. Does the book provide a "definitive" sollution to "The Mystery of Edwin Drood"? No, but it's an imaginative sollution that is plausible. Dickens fans should enjoy this book.
2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
A chance to re-read Edwin Drood,
By rs "RaviSankrit" (Baltimore) - See all my reviews
This review is from: The D. Case: Or The Truth About The Mystery Of Edwin Drood (Paperback)
The Mystery of Edwin Drood is Dickens' last (unfinished) novel and his best, excepting Pickwick Papers. With a wonderful array of characters, including the minor ones like Honeythunder and the incomparable (outside of Dickens' works) Deputy it is a pleasure to read and re-read. By itself of course a 5-star book! The D case has fictional detectives gathered in Rome, attending a conference where the aim is to "finish" the mystery story. The authors' solution is witty and interesting. However, much of the story is dated because it is poking fun at whizz-bang Japanese technology. Furthermore most of the detectives are not well portrayed (at least in the English translation). All in all an enjoyable book, by itself 3-star.
1 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Surprise Twist Ending,
By Jackie Lee "raised by wolves" (Sunny Southern California) - See all my reviews
This review is from: The D. Case: Or The Truth About The Mystery Of Edwin Drood (Paperback)
An archly amusing presentation of several possible theories of the solution to Dickens' unfinished "Mystery of Edwin Drood". Here you can read the unfinished novel, interspersed with a discussion of the story by numerous fictional detectives. As a previous reviewer stated, no definitive conclusions are reached. There is, however, a surprise ending as the assembled fictional detectives reach a consensus about Dickens' real life death.
I personally have a totally different take on the conclusion of the fictional story.
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Inside This Book
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First Sentence:
THE RUIN LIES THERE IN THE RAIN, a great fossilized eyesocket staring emptily at nothing, like a long-silenced witness; it is now no more than a traffic-island beset on all sides by raging motor vehicles. Read the first page Key Phrases - Statistically Improbable Phrases (SIPs): (learn more)
false vagabond, immoveable waiter, hideous small boy, flying waiter, china shepherdess, family vendetta, sixth number, unknown assassin, cathedral clock, brain haemorrhage Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
Miss Twinkleton, Minor Canon, Edwin Drood, Father Brown, Miss Landless, Miss Rosa, Neville Landless, Scotland Yard, Reverend Septimus, The Dickensian, Wilkie Collins, High Street, Mister Jarsper, Christmas Eve, Dickens Room, Miss Helena, Helena Landless, Porfiry Petrovich, Sergeant Cuff, Staple Inn, The Moonstone, Miss Bud, Inspector Maigret, Miss Ferdinand, Cloisterham Weir New!
Books on Related Topics | Concordance | Text Stats Browse Sample Pages:
Front Cover | Table of Contents | First Pages | Back Cover | Surprise Me!
THE RUIN LIES THERE IN THE RAIN, a great fossilized eyesocket staring emptily at nothing, like a long-silenced witness; it is now no more than a traffic-island beset on all sides by raging motor vehicles. Read the first page Key Phrases - Statistically Improbable Phrases (SIPs): (learn more)
false vagabond, immoveable waiter, hideous small boy, flying waiter, china shepherdess, family vendetta, sixth number, unknown assassin, cathedral clock, brain haemorrhage Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
Miss Twinkleton, Minor Canon, Edwin Drood, Father Brown, Miss Landless, Miss Rosa, Neville Landless, Scotland Yard, Reverend Septimus, The Dickensian, Wilkie Collins, High Street, Mister Jarsper, Christmas Eve, Dickens Room, Miss Helena, Helena Landless, Porfiry Petrovich, Sergeant Cuff, Staple Inn, The Moonstone, Miss Bud, Inspector Maigret, Miss Ferdinand, Cloisterham Weir New!
Books on Related Topics | Concordance | Text Stats Browse Sample Pages:
Front Cover | Table of Contents | First Pages | Back Cover | Surprise Me!
Citations (learn more)
This book cites 31
books:
See all 31 books this book cites
- The Mystery of Edwin Drood (Penguin Classics) by Charles Dickens in Front Matter, and page 113
- Pictures From Italy by Charles Dickens on page 444, and page 511
- The Complete Father Brown Stories by G. K. Chesterton on page 363, and page 364
- Pictures from Italy (Penguin Classics) by Charles Dickens on page 444, and page 511
- Haunted Hotel by William Wilkie Collins on page 531, and page 572
See all 31 books this book cites
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