Journal Entry 1 by Fleebo from Sydney, New South Wales Australia on Wednesday, October 13, 2010

Bought in Bathurst, Australia. It was on my wishlist, although I have no recollection why.

"In 1865 Charles Dickens, the world's most famous writer, narrowly escapes death in the Staplehurst Rail Disaster. He will never be the same again. A public hero for rescuing survivors, he slowly descends into madness as he hunts the individual he believes to be responsible for the carnage: a spectral figure known only as Drood.
His best friend, Wilkie Collins, is enlisted for the pursuit. Together they venture into Undertown, the shadowy, lawless web of crypts and catacombs beneath London. Here Drood is rumoured to hold sway over a legion of brainwashed followers. But as Wilkie spirals ever further into opium addiction and jealousy of the most successful novelist, he must face a terrifying possibility: is Charles Dickens really capable of murder? " 

Journal Entry 2 by Fleebo at Sydney, New South Wales Australia on Wednesday, October 13, 2010

Entertaining stuff, written in the Victorian style with Wilkie Collins narrating. His addictions make him a most unreliable narrator... I am unsure how many, if any, of the supernatural aspects were "real".
Not for the weak of stomach. I would classify the book as "horror", if there were not so many nifty true historical references. 

Journal Entry 3 by tqd at Sydney, New South Wales Australia on Tuesday, March 29, 2011

Received over birthday drinks on the weekend, thanks very much Fleebo! I'll have to get my act into gear and finish The Woman in White for you.

It's a bit of a doorstopper, I must say, but I am interested in Victorian times, even if I find its actual literature a bit of a chore at times. I wonder if it's worthwhile reading the original Dickens, The Mystery of Edwin Drood...? (Probably not for me, given I've just said Victorian literature is a chore, and I was pretty firmly thinking of Dickens when I typed that. :)