Among the unsolved puzzles of literature, few are mor intricate and fascinating than The Mystery of Edwin Drood. Interrupted by death when the novel was half written, Dickens left to his readers a riddle which is equally baffling and alluring. The work was to have been published in twelve monthly installments. Only three were printed. Three more in manuscript were upon the author's desk when he died. The thread was cut when only half the story was told. Edwin Drood was a boyish chap, engaged to be married to a schoolgirl. As their betrothal was a testamentary provision of their parents, their love-making lacked ardor and the young people tugged at the tether. John Jasper, a cathedral choirmaster, was Drood's uncle, and treated him with an ostentatious affection. On Christmas Eve Edwin and a certain Neville Landless, with whom he had quarrelled, met in Jasper's room to ar-range a reconciliation. On Christmas morning Edwin could not be found. The pivot of the story is this mysterious disappearance. The Mystery of Edwin Drood, Dickens's final novel was left unfinished before his death in 1871. Edwin Drood's uncle, John Jasper, a choirmaster, is in love with his pupil and Drood's fiancee Rosa Bud. She has also caught the eye of high-spirited and ill-tempered Neville Landless (who came from Ceylon with his twin sister Helena). When Drood is murdered, the killer must be found...that is if Drood is really dead. Charles Dickens (1812-1870) was an English writer and social critic. He created some of the world's best-known fictional characters and is regarded by many as the greatest novelist of the Victorian era. His works enjoyed unprecedented popularity during his lifetime, and by the 20th century critics and scholars had recognised him as a literary genius. His novels and short stories are still widely read today.