At the beginning of the Victorian era the celebration of Christmas had fallen out of fashion. The Industrial Revolution, in full swing in Charles Dickens’ day, allowed the average working person little time for making merry. But the Christmas stories of Dickens, particularly his 1843 masterpiece A Christmas Carol rekindled the joy of Christmas in Britain and America.
Many of Dickens' novels first appeared in magazines in serialized form, so he often composed his works in parts, in the order in which they were meant to appear. This practice allowed for one minor "cliffhanger" after another.
The Mystery of Edwin Drood was a work in progress when Dickens died and the novel was left unfinished. Fans and scholars have often speculated how it might have ended.
An early attempt at finishing the story was made in 1873 by one Thomas James, a young Vermont printer. James claimed to have literally “ghost-written” the text by channeling Dickens' spirit. Arthur Conan Doyle, a spiritualist himself, praised this version, declaring it consistent with Dickens' style and for several decades the “James version” of Edwin Drood was common in America.
Providing a conclusion to the story continues to challenge writers.
One notable attempt was made by Leon Garfield in 1980.
Bestseller Dan Simmons has written a forthcoming (Feb. 09) fact-based novel about Dickens, Drood – a prequel, you might say, rather than a conclusion – imagining a terrifying sequence of events as the inspiration for the novel.
In the course of trying to rescue fellow passengers after narrowly escaping death in an 1865 train wreck, Dickens encounters a ghoulish figure named Drood, who had apparently been traveling in a coffin.
Wilkie Collins, Dickens’ real-life novelist friend, narrates the tale of Dickens’ newly acquired dark double life as he pursues the wraith through crypts and lime pits in the worst slums of London.
Despite the book's length – 784 pages – PW says “readers will race through the pages, drawn by the intricate plot and the proliferation of intriguing psychological puzzles.”
After I had read the review of Drood, Dickens’ name popped up twice in close succession the same day. Spooky!
Mystery Scene magazine’s review of Philip Gooden’s The Salisbury Manuscript calls it a tale “reminiscent of Dickens, with its shades of Nicholas Nickelby.”
In this first title in a new series set in British cathedral towns during the Victorian era, London attorney Thomas Ansell travels to Salisbury to take custody of a manuscript. Shortly after he arrives and meets his client, someone murders the man and the police suspect Ansell of the crime after finding him near the body, his hands stained with the victim's blood. Ansell turns amateur sleuth to clear his own name.
Carina Burman’s mystery The Streets of Babylon features a well-known novelist – with the rather odd name of Euthanasia Bondeson – and her companion who have come from Sweden to London for the Great Exposition opening in 1851. When the companion disappears, Euthanasia investigates, together with a Scotland Yard Inspector who is an admirer of her books – as sort of a Victorian Jessica Fletcher.
An intriguing character in many regards. At one point in the story Euthanasia meets up with Charles Dickens and tells him that Oliver Twist is too long!
The Library Journal review says “In this first volume of an engaging new historical trilogy, Burman, a well-known Swedish historian and author, reveals her knowledge of early Victorian England.”
