The Mystery of Edwin Drood

On a stormy Christmas Eve in the cathedral town of Cloisterham, young Edwin Drood vanishes—and with him, the ending Charles Dickens never lived to write. Dickens's final novel follows John Jasper, the brooding choirmaster with a secret opium habit and a dangerous obsession, as suspicion, jealousy, and grief entangle a small circle of unforgettable characters. Left unfinished at Dickens's death in 1870, Edwin Drood has haunted readers for more than a century, inspiring endless debate over the identity of its murderer and the fate of its missing hero. This edition presents the complete, unabridged original text—every chapter Dickens completed—alongside a new introduction that situates the novel in his life and times, and reader's notes that illuminate the characters, clues, and controversies. Whether you come as a mystery lover or a Dickens devotee, you hold one of literature's great unfinished masterpieces. Part of The Founding Texts Library.