English 24

Other Readings and Media

Dickens, C.: The Mystery of Edwin Drood

Description

"Dickens's last novel, The Mystery of Edwin Drood, is the most successful mystery story ever written. Dickens died before finishing it, or solving the mystery. Unlike other mystery stories, it fails to reassure us that justice is done, and forces us to accept the absence of closure. We must move beyond reassurance into the larger mysteries of motivation and behavior that lie behind any crime. Dickens is writing a new kind of novel, in which the imaginative process and its translation into writing become the central subject. At the peak of his powers, Dickens is exploring his own motivations as a writer, and the geography of his own imagination. Please read chapters 1-4 for the first class meeting.



This course may not be counted as one of the twelve courses required to complete the English major."