The Centennial Edition Of The Complete Works Of Charles Dickens - The Mystery of Edwin Drood and Master Humphreys Clock by Charles DickensĀ
Condition: Great - Aux Leatherette Hardcovers bright with gilt decoration on front and gilt lettering on spine (Spine faded: refer to photos)
Price: R135
Size: Medium
Centennial Edition by Edito Service, distributed by Heron Books, 1968
The Mystery of Edwin Drood
Edwin Drood is contracted to marry orphan Rosa Bud when he comes of age, but when they find that duty has gradually replaced affection, they agree to break off the engagement. Shortly afterwards, in the middle of a storm on Christmas Eve, Edwin disappears, leaving nothing behind but some personal belongings and the suspicion that his jealous uncle John Jasper, madly in love with Rosa, is the killer. And beyond this presumed crime there are further intrigues: the dark opium dens of the sleepy cathedral town of Cloisterham, and the sinister double life of Choirmaster Jasper, whose drug-fuelled fantasy life belies his respectable appearance. Dickens died before completing The Mystery of Edwin Drood, leaving its tantalising mystery unsolved and encouraging successive generations of readers to turn detective.
Master Humphreys Clock
A lonely old man in early nineteenth-century London hits upon the idea of inviting acquaintances over to read their manuscripts together. The friends gather one night a week between 10 p.m. and 2 a.m., and with the formation of their fictional literary club, Charles Dickens launched Master Humphrey's Clock, a weekly periodical that he published from 1840 to 1841.
Recounted with the author's customary flair for humor and pathos, the tales range from the confessions of a child murderer and an account of a rebel's secret burial to lighthearted exchanges between a pair of talking statues. This collection marked Dickens' establishment of characters from his forthcoming novels The Old Curiosity Shop and Barnaby Rudge. He also reintroduced popular personalities from The Pickwick Papers, adding Mr. Pickwick, Sam Weller, and Mr. Weller to the narrators. Generations of readers have delighted in the warmth and humanity of these lesser-known tales by a master storyteller. (Goodreads)