3 Review(s)

A tale of entangled loves and thwarted desires,THE MYSTERY OF EDWIN DROOD(1870) has at its heart an ill-starred engagement and a suspected murder,the victim of which has disappeared.Dickens's last novel is the natural culmination of his life's work.It is populated by memorable characters such as the fatuous Mr Sapsea and the bullying ' philanthropist'Mr Honeythunder,and it exhibits Dickens's dazzling talent for atmosphere and social observation.Various attempts have been madeby authors such as Leon Garfield(1980) and C.Forsyte(1980) to resolve the mystery at the heart of this,Dickens's intriguing unfinished masterpiece. About the Author Charles John Huffam Dickens was born on February 7, 1812 in Portsmouth, Hampshire, England. In 1824, his father was imprisoned for debt, so Charles was sent to work in a shoe-dye factory. He later became a clerk in a law firm, a shorthand reporter in the courts, and a parliamentary and newspaper reporter. In 1833, Dickens began to contribute short stories and essays to periodicals, heralding the start of a glittering and prolific literary career. He married Catherine Hogarth in 1836, with whom he had nine surviving children before they separated in 1858. Dickens died suddenly at home on June 9, 1870, leaving behind an internationally acclaimed canon of work, including Oliver Twist (1837), Nicholas Nickleby (1838), David Copperfield (1849-50), Bleak House (1852-53), Little Dorrit (1855-57), A Tale of Two Cities (1859), Great Expectations (1860-61) and Our Mutual Friend (1864-65). He was buried in Westminster Abbey. Michael Slater is Professor of Victorian Literature at Birkbeck College in the University of London. He was editor of The Dickensian (1968-77) and President of the International Dickens Fellowship (1988-90). He has published many books and articles on Dickens.