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The Mystery of Edwin Drood

By Charles Dickens

Cover of The Mystery of Edwin Drood

Cover: Rochester Cathedral and Castle (early 19th century), watercolour by Frederick Nash (1782-1856) · Wikimedia Commons · Public domain (artist died 1856)

The Mystery of Edwin Drood is a novel by English author Charles Dickens, originally published in 1870. It was his final novel and was left unfinished when he died. Though the novel is named after the character Edwin Drood, it focuses more on Drood's uncle, John Jasper, a precentor, choirmaster and opium addict, who lusts after his pupil, Rosa Bud. Miss Bud, Edwin Drood's fiancée, has also caught the eye of the high-spirited and hot-tempered Neville Landless. Landless and Edwin Drood take an instant dislike to each other. Later Drood disappears under mysterious circumstances. The story is set in Cloisterham, a lightly disguised Rochester.

Summary source: Wikipedia: The Mystery of Edwin Drood · CC BY-SA 4.0

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Table of contents

  1. 1: The Dawn
  2. 2: A Dean, and a Chapter Also
  3. 3: The Nuns’ House
  4. 4: Mr. Sapsea
  5. 5: Mr. Durdles and Friend
  6. 6: Philanthropy in Minor Canon Corner
  7. 7: More Confidences Than One
  8. 8: Daggers Drawn
  9. 9: Birds in the Bush
  10. 10: Smoothing the Way
  11. 11: A Picture and a Ring
  12. 12: A Night with Durdles
  13. 13: Both at Their Best
  14. 14: When Shall These Three Meet Again?
  15. 15: Impeached
  16. 16: Devoted
  17. 17: Philanthropy, Professional and Unprofessional
  18. 18: A Settler in Cloisterham
  19. 19: Shadow on the Sun-Dial
  20. 20: A Flight
  21. 21: A Recognition
  22. 22: A Gritty State of Things Comes on
  23. 23: The Dawn Again