It's a little bit surreal to read the final chapter of this book knowing that it was the last substantive piece of writing that Dickens produced before he had a major stroke later that day and died the day after. For readers, of course, fully the second half of this mystery novel remains a mystery. The edition I read, printed in 1966, includes an introduction by a Noman F. Budgey which leaves the reader with the impression that Dickens' intended ending is anybody's guess. However, after a little digging online (and without giving away any spoilers!), it's pretty clear how the broad strokes of the second half of this novel would have played out, had Dickens lived to complete it, and what the ultimate solution to the mystery was intended to be. This is based largely on the plausible account of the author's friend and biographer, John Forster, who asserted that Dickens provided him with a synopsis of the entire plot of the novel; Forster's account was later corroborated by Dickens' son. So while we can probably rest assured of the information which these sources have provided, thus satisfying our basic curiosity, we are still denied Dickens' characteristic careful development of every detail, his ornate and wry language, his colorful characterizations and dialogue, as well as the ultimate fate of several of the characters involved in this multi-threaded plot. We are left especially puzzled by the introduction of several new characters near the end of the book (as it stands), and a fair deal of speculation has been bandied about concerning all of these detailed matters.

As far as what Dickens did leave to posterity, it is very much of a piece with his body of work, and clearly the product of a mature writer. It is likely to be too slow-paced for modern readers who are not aficionados of the classics, and it's always best to keep a good dictionary on hand when reading Dickens and his peers, since he employs many phrases which have long since fallen out of use. For fans of the author, fans of the era, or fans of the genre, this makes for a satisfying read... as far as it goes. That having been said, it's hard to accord five stars to an incomplete work. This isn't like an unfinished symphony, where there's little to nag the audient regarding how the piece might have been meant to end. In the case of "Edwin Drood," we are denied so much that, even knowing the likely solution to the titular mystery, we're left with a feeling of incompleteness which can't be shaken.