The D. Case: Or The Truth About The Mystery Of Edwin Drood [Paperback]

Charles Dickens (Author), Carlo Fruttero (Author), Franco Lucentini (Author)

Book Description

Series: Helen and Kurt Wolff Books | Publication Date: October 15, 1993

The authors combine the text of The Mystery of Edwin Drood, literary scholarship, the detective genre, and their knowledge of Rome to produce a hilarious, offbeat satire. Translated by Gregory Dowling. A Helen and Kurt Wolff Book

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. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 608 pages
• Publisher: Mariner Books (October 15, 1993)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0156236001
• ISBN-13: 978-0156236003
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 6.1 x 1.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.9 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,377,170 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars What the Dickens!?!?, September 11, 2005

By 

Johnny Heering "trivia buff" (Bethel, CT United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

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, September 24, 2007

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, April 23, 2009

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.