The Last Dickens. Matthew Pearl (2010)

With the death of Charles Dickens comes the great hunt for the remaining chapters of his seemingly unfinished final manuscript, THE MYSTERY OF EDWIN DROOD. Struggling American publisher Fields, Osgood & Co. has been printing the story in installments, and now it seems that the magazine’s readers will be left without an ending. Osgood makes his way to London hoping to recover any information about the missing chapters, be it in the form of the actual manuscript, Dickens’ own written notes, or even anything overheard by his friends and family. He soon learns he is not the only one searching for the pages. And Osgood’s competitors are not above using dangerous, deadly means to get what they want.One of the best things about THE LAST DICKENS is how it reveals the high regard in which Dickens was held by his admirers. One of the story lines follows Dickens’ final American reading tour. It’s awe-inspiring to read about the sold-out crowds (and stalkers) who attend the readings and how deeply they’re invested in the stories: We’re shown how Dickens gets into the roles of his characters and the way his publishers deal with security emergencies at the events. As readers we spend a lot of time with “The Chief,” and it’s interesting to see the personal side of what he may have been experiencing at the time. There are several story lines in the novel, and Pearl jumps around on the timeline quite a bit, making the plot a little hard to follow. All in all, it’s an enjoyable book--certainly one that a fan of historical fiction and mystery would want to check out.

Good