The Last Dickens by: Matthew Pearl

The Last Dickens is a fictionalized account of what might have happened before, during, and after Charles Dickens died suddenly after writing 6 serialized chapters of his last book, The Mystery of Edwin Drood.
This book contains some interesting facts concerning the publishing business in the 1800's that I wasn't aware of. We modern people of the 21st century are lucky to have so much access to books of all kinds from all over the world. Back in those days there were people called Bookeneers who hung around the docks waiting for versions of books from their authors to come across from Europe on their way to publishers here.
Of course, I have to say I don't know that much about how publishing works today, but I'm sure there is just as much fierce competition as there was back in those days.
Charles Dickens was wildly popular, just like our movie stars of today. People flocked to see him when he came over for his American tour of readings of books he had already published.
No ending was ever found to The Mystery of Edwin Drood and as you can see by this book, people are still speculating on how it might have ended.
This is the third book in this series, each one a stand alone. The first is The Dante Club. I confess I tried to read it a couple of times, but it was a little dry for me. The second, The Poe Shadow, I have not attempted yet.
The Last Dickens has enough twists and turns to hold your attention and keep you wondering how it will end.

Happy Reading--
Beverly G ♥