Not many fellow Charles Dickens fans I’ve met know of his last unfinished novel; The Mystery of Edwin Drood. Yes, it is a mystery novel. The fact it was never finished takes the mystery element to a whole different level. To understand what the novel is all about, you need to know that there are two parallel story lines that converge into one following the disappearance of the titular characters.
An opium addict named John Jasper is a choirmaster in Cloisterham Victorian times. He is close to his late sister's son, Edwin Drood. Edwin is engaged to one of Jasper's students, Rosa Bud. This worsens Jasper's opium addiction since he is actually in love with his orphaned nephew's fiance and stalks her. Rosa cannot stand Jasper’s advances any longer and she ends her engagement to Edwin out of fear that by marrying him, she cannot escape Jasper's torments forever.
Neville and Helena Landless, twins from Ceylon arrive at Cloisterham to be educated by the minor cannon Rev. Crisparkle and his mother. Crisparkle works at the same cathedral as Jasper and they are both colleagues. The Landless twins were ill-treated by their stepfather and this has made Neville a very short tempered young man.
Helena is enrolled into the same school as Rosa, where they quickly become good friends. Neville is smitten by Rosa Budd and feels Edwin does not value her. This creates a bit of rivalry between the two young man. However, following a reconciliation dinner on Christmas Eve, the two attempt to become friends.
One evening, Edwin borrows Jasper’s coat and goes for a walk with Neville. He bumps into Princess Puffer who goes to the same opium den as Jasper. She asks him what his name is and he introduces himself as Edwin Drood. She then tells him he is lucky his name is not Ned because she has overheard someone intending on killing someone with that name. Edwin is confident it is not him since only his Uncle Jasper calls him Ned and his uncle would never kill him. Edwin and Neville head for the river. The next morning, Edwin is nowhere to be found.
Jasper is grief-stricken when informed that Edwin and Rosa had ended their engagement. Note that he reacts more strongly to this news than to the prospect that Edwin might be missing. Rev. Crisparkle goes to the river and finds Edwin's watch, chain and his shirt pin. This is enough for Jasper to spread rumours that the foreigner Neville had killed his nephew. Rosa calls for her lawyer to help out in the case of her missing former fiance. The lawyer reveals that there is not enough evidence to implicate Neville in Edwin’s disappearance and volunteers to have the Ceylonese stay at his house in London until a court proceeding is arranged. Half a year later, Jasper still continues to pursue Rosa, even threatening to implicate her best friend’s twin brother further more in Edwin’s disappearance. Unable to bear Jasper any longer, she and Helena flee to Edwin’s home in London.
This character is not Edwin Drood. Instead, it is someone named Dick Datchery who appears some time after Edwin's disappearance and secretly spies on Jasper. There are hints that he is someone in disguise, but we never find out who he really is.
After reading a simplified version of Dicken’s original novel, I found that almost all the characters had some kind of motive to get rid of Edwin, which makes the mystery even more intriguing. It is important that we remember that Edwin was wearing Jasper’s coat before he disappeared. So there is a strong possibility that whoever killed him might have wanted Jasper dead instead. Let’s check out the motives:
a) John Jasper
- Was mad about Rosa Bud, and his violent opium addiction might have influenced him to kill Drood.
- Only he refers to Edwin as ‘Ned’, and Princess Puff had clearly indicated someone with that name was in serious danger.
- When he was told Rosa called off the engagement, he collapses; probably because he realizes the murder was unnecessary.
- Half a year following Edwin's disappearance, he confesses that his obsession for Rosa is so strong that he is willing to get rid of anyone who stands in his way, even his own nephew.
- On the morning of Edwin’s disappearance, he was cheerful and full of energy while conducting the choir.
b) Neville Landless
- A proud and hot tempered young man.
- Never saw eye to eye with Edwin.
- Liked Rosa Bud and might have wanted her to himself.
- Probably the last person to be seen with Edwin by the river.
- Edwin’s possessions were found by the riverside which was where both young men had been.
c) Rosa Bud
- Intended to kill Jasper to escape his advances, but killed Edwin by accident since he was wearing his uncle's coat.
d) Helena Landless
- Murdered Edwin before Neville could so her hot tempered brother would not be in trouble.
- Probably wanted to kill Jasper for stalking her friend, Rosa but killed Edwin, who was wearing Jasper's coat that night, by accident.
e) Rev. Crisparkle
- Killed Edwin mistakenly instead of the immoral Jasper who was pursuing a girl who was already engaged to someone else.
f) Princess Puffer
- The only person who was aware of the murder plot.
- Accidentally killed Edwin instead of Jasper to protect Rosa from the latter’s advances.
Historical reports
As seen from this list of clues and motives, Jasper is most probably the killer, or he could have simply been the scapegoat to serve as a distraction until the actual culprit is revealed at the end. Or perhaps, maybe Edwin is not dead at all and simply left town heartbroken after Rosa ended their engagement. However, three people related to Dickens; have supported the theory of Jasper being the killer.
- John Forster had the plot described to him by Dickens: "The story...was to be that of the murder of a nephew by his uncle."
- Luke Fildes, who illustrated the story, said that Dickens had told him, when they were discussing an illustration, "I must have the double necktie! It is necessary, for Jasper strangles Edwin Drood with it."
- Dickens' son, Charles Jr. stated that his father had told him indirectly that Jasper was the murderer.
Source: Wikipedia
It would be wrong to just assume the ending based on the conventions of mystery novels we are familiar with. Bear in mind this novel precedes most famous mystery works like ‘The Woman in White’, Agatha Christie novels, the Sherlock Homes stories and many more. It is best to speculate the novel’s solutions by studying classic Victorian and Dickensian themes.
a) Marital mismatch
A common theme in many of Dickens’ novels, like David and Dora in ‘David Copperfield’ where the solution is usually death. This theme might just support the theory that Rosa killed Edwin.
b) Secret identities
Another common theme for Dickens, the character Dick Datchery might just be another main character in disguise. Perhaps it is Edwin Drood himself in disguise to find out the true nature of those close to him in his absence, especially his shady uncle.
c) The Others
A common theme in many Victorian novels. Dickens might have wanted to play around with people's anxiety about foreign races, particularly those living in British colonies like Ceylon for instance. It is not stated in the novel to what extend Neville is Ceylonese, but it is very likely he is part Ceylonese or maybe even purely Ceylonese. As his family name suggests, he represents a landless people whose land is taken by the British, symbolized by his British stepfather. He fits the profile of what a Victorian might view as a savage; foreign, hot tempered and borderline violent.
d) Feminism
Another common Victorian theme. Rosa's lawyer tells her that she has a substantial inheritance from her father and she would be forced to forfeit all of it to the state if she does not marry Edwin. It is the law during Victorian times for a woman’s property to fall under her husband’s name. This might have caused her to be unhappy as she has no control over her own inheritance simply because of being a woman.
The latest BBC TV film adaptation of the novel provided one of the best, if not the greatest ending to an unfinished novel by a famous Victorian writer. Spoiler alert! In this version, the plot twists are so unexpected that it would put legends like Hitchcock and M. Night Shyamalan to shame.
Plot twist!
It is revealed that Edwin Drood's father had fathered several illegitimate children during his business trips around the world. These include the Landless twins, who had actually come to England to meet their only surviving relative, Edwin. And if that is not shocking enough, another illegitimate Drood child is no other than John Jasper! He was born even before Drood Sr. married Edwin's late mother. Like the wives of most Victorian gentlemen at that time, Edwin's mother took her husband's illegitimate son in. Since he would have been too old at that time, it would be impossible to pretend that he was one of her own children. So, she pretended that he was her younger brother to hide her husband's promiscuity. After all, it is quite common for wealthy Victorian gentlemen to take have mistresses during their business trips in colonial outposts.
It is revealed that Edwin Drood's father had fathered several illegitimate children during his business trips around the world. These include the Landless twins, who had actually come to England to meet their only surviving relative, Edwin. And if that is not shocking enough, another illegitimate Drood child is no other than John Jasper! He was born even before Drood Sr. married Edwin's late mother. Like the wives of most Victorian gentlemen at that time, Edwin's mother took her husband's illegitimate son in. Since he would have been too old at that time, it would be impossible to pretend that he was one of her own children. So, she pretended that he was her younger brother to hide her husband's promiscuity. After all, it is quite common for wealthy Victorian gentlemen to take have mistresses during their business trips in colonial outposts.
Okay, so who is the killer? Well, turns out it was Jasper all along. No twist there you say? Well, get this. The murder victim was never Edwin at all. He had left for Egypt to continue his father's business there and was too heartbroken after his break-up to even tell anyone. But know this; someone did die the night of Edwin's disappearance. It was Edwin Drood Senior, the biological father of Edwin Drood Junior, John Jasper and the Landless twins! He had been alive all along and had come to meet his only legitimate child, Edwin. Angry at his father for not loving him all these years, Jasper strangled his own father to death.
With such an amazing premise like this, it is a wonder that BBC never released it as a full-length feature film in cinemas instead.
