The Last Dickens

A novel about Dickens's last, unfinished novel. A historical thriller filled with real characters, reflecting Matthew Pearl's meticulous research into the Victorian era. From the Opium Wars to the flourishing of the publishing industry and the press, the author recreates a time of transformation, including personal relationships. A brilliant thriller that also involves mysterious aspects of the lives of well-known icons of modern literature. After portraying the difficulties of translating The Divine Comedy into English in his literary debut, Matthew now focuses on The Mystery of Edwin Drood, the famous novel Dickens was working on at the time of his death. Dickens's last novel deals precisely with the reader's orphanhood. What do you do when you lose the narrator, the voice that tells you what happens next? This is the true fear that haunts this new plot by the author of The Dante Club. The year is 1870. Dickens dies suddenly. How will readers survive without knowing the ending of his final novel? Furthermore, how will his American publishers survive without the profits from his writings? James R. Osgood awaits the imminent arrival of the final installments of Dickens's final work. Suspecting ambitious and dishonest New York publishers, Osgood sends his trusted young secretary, Daniel Sand, to retrieve the package. When Daniel's body is found at the docks—the true cause of his death unknown, and the manuscript missing—Osgood must embark on a transatlantic search to uncover the remainder of Dickens's mystery and solve a personal one. Osgood is aided by Rebecca Sands, the publisher's bookkeeper, who wants to help clear her brother Daniel's name. Soon, they find themselves embroiled in a sinister game in which the plot of the fascinating finale of Dickens's mystery intersects with real life.