The Mystery of Edwin Drood & Other Stories

I just finished reading Edwin Drood and I feel proud of myself. I think I had mentioned it before, in my review of Poor Folk, of my inexperience with classical literature. The first, and last, time I read Dickens, it was honors English in ninth grade and we had to read A Tale of Two Cities; there were nights where my mom would stay up with me to keep me reading because I was struggling so much to keep up. I did not understand the language at all and it pissed me off because perfectionism. I ended up being kicked out of honors for the following year. The thing was, being in regular English ended up making me feel like I was too smart for the class because I was reading way more in terms of quantity and challenge. I digress.

I enjoyed reading Edwin Drood for the surprising mystery theme throughout all the stories. None of the stories were straightforward like A Tale of Two Cities; I think that was the bright side of that high school experience, it introduced me to actively thinking while reading and find books that set your mind up to do so. As Edwin Drood played out, it was easy, not saying it in a negative way, to compare the language in terms of culture between then and now. Just sayin’, there is some high key racist shit happening up in there, so before we all get angry and throw down words, please bear in mind that that was the culture then and appreciate how far that issue has come now. I am not saying that because I am a white woman, I say that because I recognize the issue that is still pretty clear to this day, and appreciate the people who have gone the miles to bring behavior written in the book from being accepted to being not.

I will admit, I did stop reading for a good month. I went into my art phase. Once I came back to it, the read was refreshing. Master Humphrey was a light story that I can appreciate. Dickens did well in having the stories included in the overall book feature characters from all across the societal spectrum. There were stories about everyday people, people with disabilities who are a part of something, children who want the adults to understand them, fraudulent asshats, and a rags-to-high esteem gentleman who married off his pupils because he felt like playing matchmaker.

I would read this again, for sure, and because I feel like I overcame an obstacle, it just makes me want to try other books by Dickens. Here is where you can find Edwin Drood if you want to read it at all.

9/10