Charles Dickens

The Mystery of Edwin Drood Annotated Charles Dickens

The Mystery of Edwin Drood is the final novel by Charles Dickens originally published in 1870. The novel begins as John Jasper leaves a London opium den. The next evening, Edwin Drood visits Jasper, who is the choirmaster at Cloister ham Cathedral. Edwin confides that he has misgivings about his betrothal to Rosa Bud. The next dayGrewgious gives Edwin a ring which Rosa's father had given to her mother, with the proviso that Edwin must either give the ring to Rosa as a sign of his irrevocable commitment to her or return it to Mr. Grewgious. Mr. Bazar, Mr. Grewgious's clerk, witnesses this transaction. Next day, Rosa and Edwin amicably agree to end their betrothal. On the way there Durdles points out a mound of quicklime. Jasper provides a bottle of wine to Durdles. The wine is mysteriously potent and Durdles soon loses consciousness; while unconscious he dreams that Jasper goes off by himself in the crypt. Rosa was to marry Tartar, and Crisp Arkle the sister of Landless, who was himself, I think, to have perished in assisting Tartar finally to unmask and seize the murderer.