Drood: A Novel

Dan Simmons

Feb 2009 · Sold by Little, Brown

About this ebook

On June 9, 1865, while traveling by train to London with his secret mistress, 53-year-old Charles Dickens -- at the height of his powers and popularity, the most famous and successful novelist in the world and perhaps in the history of the world -- hurtled into a disaster that changed his life forever.

Did Dickens begin living a dark double life after the accident? Were his nightly forays into the worst slums of London and his deepening obsession with corpses, crypts, murder, opium dens, the use of lime pits to dissolve bodies, and a hidden subterranean London mere research . . . or something more terrifying?

Just as he did in The Terror, Dan Simmons draws impeccably from history to create a gloriously engaging and terrifying narrative. Based on the historical details of Charles Dickens's life and narrated by Wilkie Collins (Dickens's friend, frequent collaborator, and Salieri-style secret rival), Drood explores the still-unsolved mysteries of the famous author's last years and may provide the key to Dickens's final, unfinished work: The Mystery of Edwin Drood. Chilling, haunting, and utterly original, Drood is Dan Simmons at his powerful best.

Ratings and reviews

Hands down, one of my favorite books EVER.....I've read it like 3 or 4 times. Never read any other of Simmon's books, but they gotta be decent at the very least....

Dan Simmons writes some bizarre and very engrossing plots and this is no different. Not exactly an easy read, but well worth it. I find myself thinking about his characters long after having finished this book.

Long, twisted tale. I was engrossed in this book, and I will read it again one day.

About the author

Dan Simmons is the Hugo Award-winning author of several novels, including the New York Times bestsellers Olympos and The Terror. He lives in Colorado.