Renowned for writing fantasy and horror, this talented author turned to the suspenseful historical novel with The Terror, a tale of Arctic exploration. Now he looks at the mystery of Dickens’ unfinished last novel. A sinister journey through and beneath Victorian London, told by Wilkie Collins, Dicken’s great friend and rival. How many of the horrors and strange places he finds are drug induced hallucinations? Is Dickens a murderer? And who is the mysterious and terrifying man known as Drood? The search for answers leads Collins into a strange underworld and deep into his own dark thoughts in this enthralling and unusual literary mystery. A creepy, suspenseful and very enjoyable read.
Comparison: Matthew Pearl, Elizabeth Kostova, Caleb Carr.
On June 9, 1865, while traveling by train to London with his secret mistress, 53-year-old Charles Dickens -- at the height of his powers and popularity, the most famous and successful novelist in the world and perhaps in the history of the world -- hurtled into a disaster that changed his life forever. Did Dickens begin living a dark double life after the accident? Were his nightly forays into the worst slums of London and his deepening obsession with corpses, crypts, murder, opium dens, the use of lime pits to dissolve bodies, and a hidden subterranean London mere research . . . or something more terrifying? Just as he did in The Terror, Dan Simmons draws impeccably from history to create a gloriously engaging and terrifying narrative. Based on the historical details of Charles Dickens's life and narrated by Wilkie Collins (Dickens's friend, frequent collaborator, and Salieri-style secret rival), Drood explores the still-unsolved mysteries of the famous author's last years and may provide the key to Dickens's final, unfinished work: The Mystery of Edwin Drood. Chilling, haunting, and utterly original, Drood is Dan Simmons at his powerful best.
| Primary Genre | Book Club Recommendations |
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On June 9, 1865, while traveling by train to London with his secret mistress, 53-year-old Charles Dickens -- at the height of his powers and popularity, the most famous and successful novelist in the world and perhaps in the history of the world -- hurtled into a disaster that changed his life forever. Did Dickens begin living a dark double life after the accident?
Drood features in the following genres: Book Club Recommendations, eBooks of the Month, Recommendations
Paperback. Not Available.
Drood was written by Dan Simmons and published by Little, Brown and Company
Drood has 800 pages