The Mystery Of Edwin Drood

Nov 5, 2025 1:45 PM

Author:Charles Dickens

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 fiancée 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.

Reviews

Poignant and funny... Deborah Moggach is brilliant at capturing just the right voice for her characters

—— Cosmopolitan

Disturbing and witty...a deftly-described odyssey that places the battle of the sexes in a new arena

—— Sunday Times

Moggach, for the purposes of this book, has turned herself into a bloke. His monologue throughout strikes me as totally authentic, but not only does Moggach get his lingo right, she thinks through his head, dramatizing his confusion, decency, wit, pain and determination. This is not just ventriloquism, but empathy so complete as to be phenomenal

—— Irish Times

Acutely funny and sad

—— Mail on Sunday

A powerful novel, alive with the love, deceit, wisdom and the heroics of humanity

—— JEAN M. AUEL

'Make sure you have a lot of time on your hands before you open Lesley Marshall's debut novel, A Girl Could Stand Up. You'll find it hard to tear yourself away'

—— Prima

'A page-turner that will disarm and charm. A stand-out talent'

—— People

'Utterly real...rendered with truthfulness and charm'

—— Los Angeles Times

'Lively, slightly breathless comic narrative...this game is worth the candle'

—— Sunday Canberra Times

'Fun, funny, fast-paced'

—— Guardian

'Distinctive debut novel'

—— Independent

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