The Last Dickens
and over one million other books are available for Amazon Kindle .
Learn more
| |||||||||||||||
Did you know you can trade in your old books for an Amazon.co.uk Gift Card to spend on the things you want? Plus, get an extra £5 Gift Certificate when you trade in books worth £10 or more before June 30, 2012. Visit the Books Trade-In Store for more details. |
Frequently Bought Together
Product details
|
More About the Author
Product Description
Review
'The language is of the time and the scenes are rich with period detail, with lots of lovely insights...read and enjoy' --www.thebookbag.co.uk
`an illuminating peep into a vanished world.' --FT
`an illuminating peep into a vanished world.' --FT
Book Description
'Matthew Pearl is the new shining star of literary fiction - an immensely gifted author' Dan Brown
Inside This Book
(Learn More)
Tags Customers Associate with This Product(What's this?)Click on a tag to find related items, discussions, and people.
|
What Other Items Do Customers Buy After Viewing This Item?
Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
Another excellent blend of historical fact with suspensful fiction from Matthew Pearl. As he did with the Dante Club, Pearl cleverly intertwines a complex and compelling narrative to bring interest, intrigue and new life to such a well known figure as Charles Dickens and, in this instance, his last, but unfinished, work. The characterisations are well rendered and believable. Previous knowledge of the preceeding Dante Club adds to the depth and history of some such, importantly though, the lack of such knowledge does not detract from the enjoyment of the story. All in all a very enjoyable, thriller, that steadily gathers pace and complexity, keeping the reader engaged until the last. Well recommended.
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
The Last Dickens is a literary mystery involving a search for the missing manuscript of the final, unfinished Charles Dickens novel, The Mystery of Edwin Drood. This book didn't appeal to me when it was published a couple of years ago because at that time I had only read one Charles Dickens book and didn't have much interest in reading a historical fiction novel about him. Since then, though, I've read a few more of Dickens' books (including Edwin Drood) and so I thought I would give The Last Dickens a try now.
In 1870, the new Dickens novel, The Mystery of Edwin Drood, is being serialised by his American publisher Field, Osgood & Company, who are based in Boston. When Field and Osgood send their young office clerk, Daniel Sand, to the docks to collect the latest instalment which has been sent from England, Daniel is later found dead under suspicious circumstances. With the shocking news that Dickens has also died and left his novel incomplete, James R Osgood travels to England in search of clues as to how the story may have been going to end. Osgood is accompanied by Daniel Sand's sister, Rebecca, another employee of the publishing house. Can they uncover the truth about Daniel's death and at the same time find the remaining chapters of The Mystery of Edwin Drood?
Just when Osgood and Rebecca's adventures start to get exciting, the story is interrupted with a very long flashback to Dickens's American tour several years earlier. Some of this was interesting (it's such a shame there was no recording equipment in those days as it would have been fascinating to have been able to hear Dickens reading his books on stage to an audience!), but there was a lot of detail that I didn't think was absolutely necessary and by the time we returned to Rebecca and Osgood the flow of the story had been completely lost. There were also some shorter sections set in India, where Dickens's son Frank, serving with the Bengal Mounted Police, is on the trail of opium thieves, but I didn't think this sub-plot really added anything to the book and I admit I didn't quite understand what was going on.
One aspect of the book I did enjoy was the insight into the American publishing industry in the 19th century, a time when copyright laws appeared to be virtually non-existent. There are some entertaining descriptions of the lengths publishers would go to in order to obtain manuscripts and be the first to publish them.
Another similar book which was released around the same time as this one was Drood by Dan Simmons. I read Drood last year and although I had a couple of problems with that book too, I think I probably enjoyed it more than The Last Dickens. It's interesting to see how two different authors can use the same historical material to create such very different books.
In 1870, the new Dickens novel, The Mystery of Edwin Drood, is being serialised by his American publisher Field, Osgood & Company, who are based in Boston. When Field and Osgood send their young office clerk, Daniel Sand, to the docks to collect the latest instalment which has been sent from England, Daniel is later found dead under suspicious circumstances. With the shocking news that Dickens has also died and left his novel incomplete, James R Osgood travels to England in search of clues as to how the story may have been going to end. Osgood is accompanied by Daniel Sand's sister, Rebecca, another employee of the publishing house. Can they uncover the truth about Daniel's death and at the same time find the remaining chapters of The Mystery of Edwin Drood?
Just when Osgood and Rebecca's adventures start to get exciting, the story is interrupted with a very long flashback to Dickens's American tour several years earlier. Some of this was interesting (it's such a shame there was no recording equipment in those days as it would have been fascinating to have been able to hear Dickens reading his books on stage to an audience!), but there was a lot of detail that I didn't think was absolutely necessary and by the time we returned to Rebecca and Osgood the flow of the story had been completely lost. There were also some shorter sections set in India, where Dickens's son Frank, serving with the Bengal Mounted Police, is on the trail of opium thieves, but I didn't think this sub-plot really added anything to the book and I admit I didn't quite understand what was going on.
One aspect of the book I did enjoy was the insight into the American publishing industry in the 19th century, a time when copyright laws appeared to be virtually non-existent. There are some entertaining descriptions of the lengths publishers would go to in order to obtain manuscripts and be the first to publish them.
Another similar book which was released around the same time as this one was Drood by Dan Simmons. I read Drood last year and although I had a couple of problems with that book too, I think I probably enjoyed it more than The Last Dickens. It's interesting to see how two different authors can use the same historical material to create such very different books.
6 of 8 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
Having really liked The Dante Club, somehow, I missed out on Matthew Pearl's second novel (The Poe Shadow) and gone straight on to The Last Dickens. Boston, Massachusetts, which I know reasonably well features yet again in what is an exploration of what might have happened around the creation of Edwin Drood (Charles Dickens' last novel). Knowing a location or two really helps but, for me, Boston did not come alive so much as it did in The Dante Club (interesting to see who is acknowledged in the creativity process, by Matthew Pearl).
On the other hand, some aspects of locale creation in England were quite good (more could have been made of the London underworld and sewers! For example, see Clare Clark's The Great Stink. The evocation of Gadshill Place was interesting and made this reviewer want to go to Rochester again to look at the property. Overall, it's a well-written novel, just not as good as The Dante Club.
On the other hand, some aspects of locale creation in England were quite good (more could have been made of the London underworld and sewers! For example, see Clare Clark's The Great Stink. The evocation of Gadshill Place was interesting and made this reviewer want to go to Rochester again to look at the property. Overall, it's a well-written novel, just not as good as The Dante Club.
Would you like to see more reviews about this item?
Was this review helpful?
Let us know
Most Recent Customer Reviews
A wonderfully crafted piece
A wonderfully crafted piece that guides the reader expertly through a tense, psychological landscape with pace and thrills aplenty. A great read!
Published 3 months ago by Edward Rice
Not great
After the success of the well written and absorbing Dante Club, I found this a terrible disappointment. Read more
Published 3 months ago by Josey Wales
Historically interesting but lacking in thrills
Matthew Pearl's third historical literary thriller turns its sights onto the mystery of Dickens' final unfinished work. Read more
Published 5 months ago by Curiosity Killed The Bookworm
Binned this book half read !
Very disappointing.
After having read 'Drood' I found this novel to consist of feeble, clumsy prose and a weak plot. Read more
After having read 'Drood' I found this novel to consist of feeble, clumsy prose and a weak plot. Read more
Published 8 months ago by R. Redmond
My Last Pearl
So this book has its plaudits, that's plain, they've been helpfully located on the front and back covers - some people rate this work highly. Read more
Published 12 months ago by Mitchell
Dickens
Did you think that Dickens was a really nice man, and what happend to his last manuscript these and other strange occurences will keep you gripped with a forboding
Published 18 months ago by actionman023
One Pence
Got this book from Renegade Books as a used item it was described as very good condition, I would up that description to excellent as it looks new and for only 1 penny (P&P was... Read more
Published 19 months ago by Mr. C. J. Elding
An ok historical mystery
This book is set mainly in America in the 1860s and 70s, swapping between the time when Charles Dickens was doing a speaking tour of some American cities, and after his death in... Read more
Published 20 months ago by miss_spookiness
Ponderous
This was a book that promised much more than it delivered. In essence a "mystery" tale involving Dickens final unfinished novel. Read more
Published on 20 Feb 2010 by Mr. Philip James
Customer Discussions
|
This product's forum
Active discussions in related forums
Search Customer Discussions
|
Related forums
|
Listmania!
|
|
Look for similar items by category
Look for similar items by subject
Feedback
- Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?
- I am the Author, and I want to comment on my book.
- I am the Publisher, and I want to comment on this book.
|
