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Want your say about an ending to a famous book?

1/6/2015

9 Comments

 
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A mystery about the ending of Charles Dickens' last book has long baffled fans, and caused arguments in literary circles.

In 1870, Dickens was publishing monthly installments of his manuscript The Mystery of Edwin Drood. The Mystery of Edwin Drood was scheduled to be published in twelve episodes (shorter than Dickens's usual twenty) from April to February 1871, each costing one shilling. Only six of the installments were completed before the famous author's death—making it approximately half finished.

After the main character disappeared, fans were kept on tenterhooks by the plot.

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Now, a group of academics hope to solve the 150-year-old mystery of what actually happened to Edwin Drood by allowing readers to vote online for their preferred ending. People visiting the website called the Drood Inquiry http://www.droodinquiry.com/home are asked to vote anonymously on various aspects of the ending such as whether he is dead or alive, where his body is and who killed or attempted to kill the student.

You are presented with a case review, character profiles, witness statements, clues and red herrings etc before making your decision.

The project launcher, an expert in Dickens at the University of Buckingham, says people are fascinated with the book and have been trying to work out the ending for almost 150 years.

Some of Charles Dickens plays: A Tale of Two Cities, The Frozen Deep, No Thoroughfare, The Goblins.

To refresh your memory, here's the beginning of A Tale of Two Cities: IT WAS the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of Light, it was the season of Darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair, we had everything before us, we had nothing before us, we were all going direct to Heaven, we were all going direct the other way- in short, the period was so far like the present period, that some of its noisiest authorities insisted on its being received, for good or for evil, in the superlative degree of comparison only.

So how about you? Are you keen enough on Charles Dickens to make a contribution.

As an aside, last year I offered a chance for a reader to become a character in my novel, Shattered Shells by using an online entry form. The plot had already been worked out. All I needed was a person with unique attributes. My winner, Alana Mautone, now graces the newly published novel.

What do you think about using public participation in this way?


9 Comments
Sophie Bowns link
1/5/2015 06:41:31 pm

Ah, I like your idea of including one of your readers in your novels. That's such a great idea!
I haven't read that 1870 Dicken's novel.

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Kate link
1/5/2015 07:14:15 pm

What a great idea, this would be fab for older kids to get involved with as well.

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Sisley White link
1/5/2015 07:18:33 pm

I love getting involved with anything literary. I love books and this is such a great idea!

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Alana link
1/5/2015 07:21:11 pm

It's a wonderful idea. Will be curious to see how it works out. And, thank you for the shout out, Francene!

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Pamela link
1/5/2015 07:40:53 pm

That would be interesting...I think it would be really good to get both endings....

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K.Lee Banks link
1/5/2015 08:39:23 pm

Wow, I did NOT know that about Dickens' last book!

I also didn't know that Alana was a character in your book! How neat!

I always learn new things when I visit your blog. :-)

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Elisabeth link
1/5/2015 11:00:16 pm

They reference this in an episode of Dr. Who when they integrate Charles Dickens into one of the first episodes after they restarted Dr. Who with Christopher Eggleston. It's one of my favorite episodes because of the literary connection!

I'll have to go check this out.

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Joan Harrington link
1/6/2015 12:21:18 am

Hi Francene,

Enjoyed reading and very thought provoking on Dickens :) Thanks for sharing!

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Cassandra link
1/6/2015 07:58:45 am

I think it's a wonderful idea! I love to read and to have a say in my favorite books would be a lot of fun. Getting a bunch of outcomes and impatiently waiting for which one was picked, that sounds like a really awesome time!

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    Francene Stanley
    From England, I use news items in my novels which you can see below, all linked to an Amazon near you.

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