The Disappearance of Edwin Drood

by Peter Rowland

Hired by Cloisterham choirmaster Jasper John to ascertain the fate of his nephew, Edwin Drood, Sherlock Holmes and his trusty Dr. Watson set out to solve the mystery that Dickens began in his unfinished The Mystery of Edwin Drood.

Genres: Mystery, Fiction, Historical Fiction

176 pages, Hardcover

First published March 1, 1992

About the author

Peter Rowland is a wildlife conservationist, educator and nature photographer who worked at the Australian Natural History Museum for a period spanning 20 years.

Reviews

[John · Rating 3 out of 5]

There are several "completions" around of Charles Dickens' unfinished The Mystery of Edwin Drood, perhaps the best known being that by Leon Garfield, and then there have been various novels that have used the surviving text as springboard for something else, such as Dan Simmons's impressive Drood and, my favourite, The D. Case; or The Truth about The Mystery of Edwin Drood by Carlo Fruttero and Franco Lucentini. Peter Rowland's novel uses a cunning and just allowable plot device to give Sherlock Holmes and John Watson MD the opportunity to solve the mystery -- which, of course, they do. I liked the style of this book quite a lot -- Rowland certainly caught Doyle's voice -- and I very much liked the tale . . . for the most part. My only irritations were towards the end, with the brief introduction of the supernatural (although, of course, this is perfectly in keeping with Doyle's own abject gullibility when confronted by the "psychic") and an explanation of Dick Datchery's role in the original that was clever and witty but out of place, being metafictional in what is otherwise a piece of straightforward telling. Overall, though, this was lots of fun -- and the ideal book to put by the bedside in the spare room!

[Tristan Wolf · Rating 3 out of 5]

There are two caveats regarding this book. The first is that is what might be called "Alternative Holmesiana," which is a delicate genre that few can do well. The second is that is also a part of that realm of fiction where unfinished works by great authors are, in some form, completed -- also a difficult task. That being said, the story is a satisfying what-if that makes for a cozy afternoon's pursuit.

Rowland takes on the daunting task of attempting to make a whole story from Charles Dickens in the style of Arthur Conan Doyle -- not a feat for the faint-hearted. Dickens' work The Mystery of Edwin Drood has been the topic of no little debate since the author's death in 1870. Using several chapters and remaining notes, many authors have attempted to solve the mystery and reveal all to those of us who have been waiting so long. (The most ambitious attempt is, without question, The D. Case or The Truth About The Mystery Of Edwin Drood, wherein Holmes, Poirot, Father Brown, and others gather at a literary conference to present their own solutions. Please ignore the discrepancies of time; it's too much fun to watch the lot of them present their particular ideas in their well-imitated styles.)

Rowland has done a creditable job, both in the voice of Conan Doyle (or perhaps one should say Dr. Watson) and in finding a solution to two issues -- what happened to young Edwin Drood, and why it has taken a quarter-century for the answers to be found. Rowland deserves particular credit for keeping the literary timeline whole. Making the assumption that the character's disappearance coincides to the time of the work's writing, Drood vanished in 1869, while Holmes was not back in the full flower of his post-Reichenbach career until somewhere around 1893 (if my memory serves). John Jasper, young Drood's uncle by accounts, beseeches Holmes to take up the mystery just before Christmas of 1894 -- almost precisely 25 years from Drood's disappearance.

The balance of the mystery, which I'll not recount for fear of spoilers, is well-presented, intriguing, and matches up well with what information Dickens had left us. There is also a delightful final touch -- literally in the last few paragraphs -- that might be taken as the author's bow to his audience, and I shan't say it's not deserved. All in all, a satisfying read.

[Jc · Rating 4 out of 5]

A quirky little exploration of Dickens’ famously unfinished final novel. Rowland, an amateur historian and biographer among other things, here combined his love of both Sherlock Holmes and Charles Dickens and created an answer [1991] to the mystery [1870] of Edwin Drood. This is a clever, fun Holmesian pastiche as well as a nice summary of the world and characters of Dickens’ last novel. I think fans of both would get a kick out of this short work. It also makes a nice Reader’s Digest style condensed version for those without time to finish the unfinished original, of which ~400 pages exist, and which probably would have extended to 750-850 pages were Dicken’s to have completed it. So, Rowland’s 175 pages is child’s play. 😊

[John · Rating 3 out of 5]

Well it was no Dickens but an ok read, a short 2 hour escape. Will not remember a thing about it next week. Edwin drood was one of the very few books by Dickens that I did not rate with 5 stars.

[Stephanie Fleming · Rating 2 out of 5]

It's a fairly classic Holmes and Watson pastiche, but I just found the mystery too simple.

[Phillip · Rating 2 out of 5]

The fact I took so long to complete this novel should be some indication of how I felt about it. I give the author, Peter Rowland, a great deal of credit for taking a story written by Dicken's, and forming it into the style of Sherlock Holmes, and it was his ability to speak in the voice of Watson that I credit the author the most. I felt like I was reading a Sherlock Holmes story. That said, the comparison ends there. Unlike 99% of Sherlock Holmes' stories, this one takes place over the course of many months, if not years. In fact, Holmes solves several stories in the canon during the course of his investigation of Edwin Drood, which is a little cool, yes, but not fitting with Holmes' tradition of focusing obsessively on, and solving the crime at hand.

Now, the author surely did his research. He studied the material we have today that gives us some indication of how Dickens originally planned to conclude The Mystery of Edwin Drood until his unfortunate death, and though we will never know for sure, I am confident that we do have the basic outline of his intent, as he revealed to his son and I believe illustrator. Rowland again does a pretty good job of resolving the mystery closely to what Dickens had in mind, however, I cannot express enough how bizarre I found this ending. I don't want to spoil it (though I wish I could, because sometimes I wish Goodreads would allow us to discuss the merits of a novel) I was most unsatisfied with the ending. In fact, I'm not really sure that Holmes even solves the mystery. He just brings to light the pieces that existed, and reveals their conclusion to Watson. Finally, that strange, completely unexpected supernatural apparition at the end was so absurd that I cannot believe the author felt the need to include it. It just makes no sense. Thus, in short, I would recommend this novel to anyone interested in reading all the possible conclusions to The Mystery of Edwin Drood, as I am, but I wouldn't read this again, and I certainly wouldn't recommend it to anyone with no knowledge of Dicken's original novel.

[Phil Rosette · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great story, highly recommend to all of you Sherlockian fans out there.

[Lannie · Rating 1 out of 5]

Pastiche at its mostest boringest.

[Leah · Rating 4 out of 5]

It was good. I didn't like their exact ending, but it was much better than the original (sorry Charles!)